Digital Commons Network^™

How Disability Inclusion Shapes Student Experiences In Egyptian Public Universities, Ramez Maher

Theses and Dissertations

The inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education is a critical aspect of equity, social justice, and human rights, particularly in Egypt, where systemic barriers continue to hinder access to education for this demographic. Despite the enrollment of approximately 19.4 million students in 2018, only 38,135 students with disabilities were admitted, highlighting the significant challenges they face in accessing higher education.   Through a qualitative approach employing reflexive thematic analysis, this study explores the interplay of institutional policies, cultural attitudes, and accessibility challenges that affect the educational experiences of students with disabilities in Egyptian public universities. The analysis of 21 …

Building Bridges: The Reference Interview As A Mechanism For Social Capital In School Libraries, Jessica M. Lilly

Learning Hub

Building Bridges: The Reference Interview as a Mechanism for Social Capital in School Libraries

Abstract

School librarians occupy a unique position within schools, interacting across all stakeholder groups and serving as a conduit between students, teachers, administrators, and the broader learning community. This article examines the reference interview not merely as a transactional information-retrieval tool but as a relational practice through which school librarians generate, sustain, and distribute social capital. Drawing on the foundational theories of Putnam (2000), Coleman (1988), and Bourdieu (1986), and on the reference transaction model grounded in Jesse H. Shera's foundational work (Coleman et al., …

Implementing 21st Century Skills In Quranic Education: A Case Study Of Sub-Saharan African Students Within Quranic Schools In The Souss Region Of Morocco, Ahmed Abaragh, Lahoussine Hamdoune

Critical Humanities

To help Sub-Saharan African students meet their needs in a globalized era, this article seeks to shed light on the essence of integrating or implementing 21st century skills into Quranic education within the Quranic schools in the Souss region of Morocco. The choice of southern Moroccan Quranic Schools, as the research area is due to its historically vibrant culture and the high-quality training provided by well-versed teachers and jurists. Based on the social ecology of human development theory with the use of a qualitative approach, the analysis highlights the prominent role of implementing critical thinking and problem-solving, communication and collaboration, …

Human Wisdom And Artificial Intelligence: Role Of Liberal Arts Education In A Neoliberal World, Purna Chandra Bhusal

Critical Humanities

Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that originated in the 1930s and 40s, gained momentum in the late 70s and 80s, and peaked in the 90s and 2000s. Since its inception, neoliberalism has promoted a free-market economy with minimal state intervention, granting individuals the freedom to compete and succeed. Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the neoliberal system has invested in, incorporated, and promoted Artificial Intelligence (AI), valuing an AI-enhanced corporate ethos. As a result, the success of higher education is generally measured by the quantity of technologically sound, market-ready, AI-trained human capital it produces for industry. …

An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Black Women College Leaders: Reflections On Support, Amplifiers, Barriers, And Success As Leaders In Higher Education, Katherine L. Acevedo

Student Theses

Black women have had to deal with the “double jeopardy” of race and gender in higher education for centuries (Khosroshahi, 2021). This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of Black women serving in senior-level leadership roles within institutions of higher education (IHEs) in New York State. Utilizing aspects of phenomenological methodology informed by Black Feminist Thought (BFT) (Collins, 1989, 2000, 2022), this study amplifies the voices of Black women senior-level leaders, centering their narratives to understand how race and gender shape their professional journeys, challenges, and strategies for success. Ten participants, all self-identified Black women with at least 3 years …

The Tagamo3 Accent: Linguistic Stylization, Enregisterment, And Social Meaning In Egyptian Digital Discourse, Jannah M. Abdelaziz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Tagamo3 Accent (TA), a socially recognizable speech style associated with elite urban Egyptian identity, through a qualitative multimodal discourse analysis of twelve Egyptian TikTok videos, including both naturally occurring lifestyle and influencer content as well as parody and commentary videos that explicitly imitate, discuss, or evaluate the accent. Drawing on theories of enregisterment (Agha, 2003), stylization (Coupland, 2007), and indexicality (Silverstein, 2003; Eckert, 2008), the study examines how TA is linguistically performed, socially recognized, and ideologically circulated within Egyptian digital spaces. The findings suggest that TA does not function as a structurally bounded dialect or geographically …

Big Fish Or Little Pond? National Evidence On The Relationship Between Transferring And Athletic Performance Within Division I Men's College Basketball, Kendall Cole, Francis A. Pearman Ii, Saurabh Khanna

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Beginning with the introduction of the transfer portal in 2018, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made several policy changes that have made transferring both easier and more desirable among student athletes, particularly in Division I (DI) revenue-generating sports. Yet, little is known about the relationship between transferring and student athletes’ athletic performance. Using individual- and team-level data on all DI men’s college basketball student athletes from the 2018-19 season through the 2023-24 season, we examine the relationship between transferring and athletic performance, specifically one’s points per game, minutes per game, and number of games started per season. Results …

Data Governance Maturity, Ai Integration, And Equity In Colorado K-12 Public Schools, John R. Curtin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorado's 179 K-12 public school districts operate as autonomous governance units, each responsible for securing and managing student data assets that span health, financial, residential, and academic records. The accelerating integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools into administrative workflows, productivity software, and instructional platforms has fundamentally altered the risk landscape for student data, yet governance frameworks at the state, district, and school levels have not kept pace. This dissertation investigates whether Colorado's decentralized educational governance structure is institutionally capable of producing equitable, secure, and sustainable data governance outcomes in the AI era.

Drawing on Institutional Theory …

Induction Programming For Novice Special Education Directors: The Significance Of Informal Supports In The Absence Of Formal Structures, Julie E. Rottier-Lukens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role and responsibilities of a special education director are unique and highly complex when compared to other district-level leadership roles. Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed in 1975, states gradually increased requirements for certification of these administrative roles, more clearly defining the criteria and standards to incorporate within preparation programs. Despite improvements in preparation programs for special education directors, there continues to be variation in preparation and certification requirements across states and persistent challenges with shortages of special education directors. After completing a preparation program, what support exists for novice special education directors to help them …

Perceptions Of Giftedness: A Mixed Methods Study Of General Education Classroom Teachers And Gifted And Talented Specialists, Rachel J. Martino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This convergent mixed methods study examined similarities and differences in perceptions of giftedness held by general education teachers and gifted specialists in two suburban elementary school districts. Grounded in social constructivism and labeling theory, the study explored how educator role shapes understandings of giftedness and gifted education. Survey data from 70 educators and interviews with eight participants were analyzed and integrated. Findings revealed alignment regarding the multidimensional and social–emotional nature of giftedness, but statistically significant differences in perceptions were found related to instructional practices and differentiation, identification, autonomy, and service models. Findings also revealed a gap between belief and practice, …

The Organizational Experience Of Next Gen Learning Through Portrait Of A Graduate, Kathleen J. Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative single-case study investigates the organizational journey of navigating the complexities of systemic transformation. In 2021, Silver Peak School District (SPSD; a pseudonym), a rural educational organization in the western United States, implemented a graduate competency framework known as Portrait of a Graduate. This study analyzed the experiences of teachers, instructional coaches, and principals with the explicit Portrait policies, practices, and resource flows of five learning structures—graduate competencies (in SPSD, this is analogous to Portrait), deeper learning, agency, performance assessment, and teaching culture—in a district in the messy middle of Portrait adoption. By focusing on a district situated in …

A Case Study Of Principal Preparation In A Social Justice-Informed Principal Preparation Program, Katie Golieb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined how a social justice-informed principal preparation program fostered the development of socially just school leaders and how graduates perceived their capacity for resilience as educational leaders in the contemporary PK–12 context. The Mountain Range Principal Preparation Program (MRP3), a university–district partnership designed to prepare educational leaders to be transformative leaders equipped to improve student achievement and address challenges in low-performing schools, served as the site of inquiry. The study explored how principals made meaning of their preparation experiences and how those experiences shaped their enactment of equity-focused leadership and their ability to sustain such work. …

Becoming The Phoenix: Black Women’S Experiences And Leadership Growth Through Humanized Black Feminist Action Learning, Jovan Keith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the workplace learning experiences of Black women professionals in corporate leadership contexts. Leadership development programs often rely on standardized models that overlook the lived realities shaping Black women’s professional experiences. In response, this study introduced Humanized Black Feminist Action Learning, a leadership development intervention that integrates Black feminist scholarship, humanizing pedagogy, and critical action learning.

Using a qualitative case study design, the research examined a cohort of midcareer Black women professionals who participated in four facilitated learning sessions structured around workplace dilemmas. During these sessions, participants engaged in reflection, dialogue, and action as they examined workplace dynamics …

Higher Education Institutions In U.S. Blockchain Innovation Governance Documents, Clarissa Terracciano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blockchain technologies have attracted growing attention as an evolution of digital recordkeeping, prompting interest in higher education governance, credentialing, and data management. Yet, no systematic analysis exists on how U.S. government blockchain documents define institutional roles and governance authority within higher education institutions. As the national blockchain innovation system expands through governance infrastructure, the inclusion of higher education institutions as governing actors is imperative for coherent and equitable deployment. This qualitative study examines what roles the U.S. government blockchain documents assign to higher education institutions within the national blockchain innovation system.

Using innovation systems theory, particularly the triple-helix model of …

Exploring Engineering Technology: A Multi-Year, Multidisciplinary Project-Based Engineering Technology Workshop, Benito Mendoza, Angran Xiao, Muhammad Ummy

Publications and Research

Many students enter engineering technology programs with a limited understanding of disciplinary differences, curricular expectations, and career pathways, contributing to early dissatisfaction and attrition. To address this challenge, we developed Exploring Engineering Technology, a multidisciplinary, project-based workshop that introduces students to Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering Technology through a shared robotic systems project. This paper presents a multi-year design-based educational research (DBER) study documenting the iterative refinement and sustained implementation of the workshop across three consecutive summers (2023–2025) at a large urban public college. Using a consistent post-workshop survey administered across cohorts and aggregate student progression indicators, we examine …

Creating Public Value Through Public-Private Partnerships In Technical And Vocational Education And Training In Egypt, Aseel Amr Tajuddin

Theses and Dissertations

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has emerged in the last decade as a foundational pillar for Egypt’s workforce and economic development vision. More recently, the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) has scaled industry driven and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) TVET models, industry affiliated dual education programs and Applied Technology Schools (ATS), seeking to strengthen alignment with the labor market and improving TVET graduates employability. Yet, TVET in Egypt continues to suffer from persistent social stigma, limited social legitimacy and low social ranking, despite the state led reform efforts. Existing TVET literature remains limited to examining …

The Verge, Reconsidered: Love, Salt, Seed, Time, Origin, Interweave––Triptychs In Conversation Across Time, Marna Hauk

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

Sparked particularly by the poetic and the emergent data conversation analysis from an earlier Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal article (Hauk & Kippen, 2020) piece, which discussed data from 2016, the author creates a contemporary “conversation” from visual and poetic material, in 2026, and imagines forward a further 10 years to 2036. The three-plated visual-poetic artworkings speak also back and forth across the verges of spacetimemattering, riding the dip and wave, tide and weave, of deeper time and meaning sensing, with visual and poetic material. The original article proposed collaborative workings with other researchers. This work imagines the artworkings and …

Engaging Immigrant Families Of Children With Disabilities: Recommendations For Practitioners, Robai N. Werunga, John William Mckenna, Rocio Rosales

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Family involvement is essential for positive school outcomes. Yet research suggests that family engagement for students with disabilities may be marked by conflict. Furthermore, creating an environment that promotes active engagement for immigrant families may be challenging. In this paper, we synthesize existing research, legal guidance, and community-engaged insights to present four practice-oriented recommendations for educators and practitioners working with immigrant families of children with disabilities. Grounded in Hans and Love’s stages of immigrant family engagement, these recommendations aim to support meaningful and culturally responsive participation in special education processes.

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In A Hybrid Dpt Program: Student Opinions On Use, Cheating, And Plagiarism, Jennifaye V. Brown, Keiba Shaw, Otis L. Owens

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: To prepare students with digital competencies needed for modern clinical practice, AI should be responsibly integrated into healthcare education programs. However, concerns exist about students misusing AI for admissions statements and academic assignments. This study examined Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students' perceptions of ChatGPT use and whether they consider its use cheating or plagiarism. Method: This retrospective multi-methods analysis compared two DPT student cohorts' online essay responses to the following questions: 1) Is using AI or specifically, ChatGPT considered cheating and/or plagiarism? and 2) What are students' opinions on ChatGPT use in the DPT curriculum? One hundred forty-seven …

The Journey From Pell Recipient To Graduate Program Candidate: A Generic Qualitative Inquiry, Stephen Richard Tomkiel

Theses and Dissertations

At a time when most economic advantages are inherited from prior generations, higher education should offer pathways through which disadvantaged students can rise above their origins. Unfortunately, low-income students are underrepresented across academia. Challenges faced by low-income high school students applying to college have been widely studied, but there is a relative lack of research exploring the experiences of low-income graduate school applicants. Prior studies show that low-income students can increase their financial well-being through advanced education. However, interactions of cost, funding, and habiti complicate their pathways to graduate school. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore …

English Language Learners’ Perceptions Of Challenges To Persisting To Graduation In Higher Education, Rania Alhajjar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

When School Culture Excludes: Deficit Discourse, Microaggressions, And The Mental Health Of Marginalized Students – A Conceptual Framework With Implications For School Psychology Practice And Equity Policy, Modupe Mercy Oyewunmi

Publications

Deficit-laden language like ‘behavior problem,’ ‘not college material,’ ‘won’t fit in’, ‘not a cultural fit’, operates as a systemic form of implicit bias and microaggression in school settings. Despite decades of research on school belonging and well-being, school psychology has yet to integrate these exclusionary discursive practices into a coherent health-determinant model that also accounts for the current anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy environment. This conceptual paper proposes a testable framework linking deficit discourse and school-based microaggressions to student identity suppression, academic impostor phenomenon, and educator moral injury, with downstream effects on school mental health outcomes. We situate these …

Teachers' Promoting Literacy Achievement For Middle School African American Male Students, Angelia Slavings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Community Health Fair As Experiential Learning: Interprofessional Faculty And Student Perspectives, Sharon Stevenson, Martha Rojo, Jing Jin, Erickson Feliciano, Margaret Love, Scott Wright

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Abstract

Background: Traditional, precepted clinical practice sites continue to decline. Community health fairs (CHFs), led by experienced interprofessional faculty, present a valuable opportunity. In addition, CHFs provide students with hands-on experience in real-world settings.

Aim: This study examined the perspectives and clinical experiences of interprofessional faculty and students participating in a CHF.

Methods: This study utilized qualitative and quantitative design. Fourteen participants (seven students, seven faculty) engaged in conversational interviews, and completed a faculty and student survey as well as a demographic survey. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample and survey responses, and thematic analysis was used to …

Resource Utilisation And Quality Of Education In Secondary Schools In Lagos State, Nigeria, Jacob A. Adeyanju

International Journal for Research in Education

The need for the education sector to deliver on its goals has always been a major expectation of all stakeholders in the system. For this expectation to be met, the major resources in the school system must be combined in a reasonable proportion. On this premise, this study investigated the relationship between resource utilisation and quality of education in Lagos State. The study was conducted using descriptive survey research design with a population of 664 public secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. These schools had a total population of 23,793 teachers. A self-developed instrument titled “Education Resource Utilisation and Quality …

The Effect Of Practice Test Timing On Students’ Test Anxiety And Exam Performance, Alanood M. Al-Thani, Mutasem M. Akour

International Journal for Research in Education

This quasi-experimental study employed a switched replication design to investigate the effect of practice test timing on test anxiety and exam performance among 154 female undergraduate students. Participant groups received online practice tests either early in the semester (before the midterm) or later (before the final exam). Results indicated a significant effect of practice test timing on test anxiety. While both groups exhibited a significant decrease in test anxiety over time, this reduction was more pronounced for the group that took the practice test early. Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between final exam performance and test anxiety. These …

Many Hands Make Light Work: Restoring Edu-Economical Debts For Black Males, Joyice Robinson Myers

VA Engage Journal

A college degree is closely linked to economic stability, yet only 20% of Black men in the United States hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. These disparities are not accidental; they are the cumulative result of systems that have systematically denied Black males equitable access to educational and economic opportunity across generations. This systematic review examines the compounding relationship among family structure, educational attainment, and economic standing for Black males, and considers what restoring that relationship could look like in practice. I integrate three theoretical frameworks—Education Debt (Ladson-Billings, 2006), African American Male Theory (Bush & Bush, 2013), and the R³ISE …

Beyond Lecturing: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Impact Of Lesson Planning On Faculty Job Satisfaction In Christian Higher Education, Andrea Lynn Smith, Randy Baker, David M. Hahn, Cheryl B. Hemric, Karen Haaland Hubbard, Annik A. Miller, Brenda L. Widger

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Job satisfaction for higher education faculty is influenced by many factors, with lesson planning serving as a contributing factor. This phenomenological study sought to explore and understand the lived experiences of faculty members regarding the impact of lesson planning on job satisfaction in a Christian higher education institution. Using phenomenological methods, the researchers conducted in-person interviews, administered discussion board focus groups, and gathered reflective journal entries from a sample size of six participants at a large, faith-based university located in the southeastern United States. During the data analysis, five themes emerged: Faith Integration and Spiritual Purpose, Autonomy and Creative Freedom, …

About This Journal - Issue 2, Shawn Bielicki

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

About this Journal - Issue 2

Harnessing Story To Overcome The Double Empathy Problem Between Autistic And Neurotypical People: Brain-Behavior Relationships, Kate Gifford

Theses and Dissertations

There is a dearth of information on the physical aspects of the Double Empathy Problem which is the bidirectional challenge of shared empathy and understanding between autistic and neurotypical individuals. Storytelling has been shown as means to facilitate empathy between storytellers and listeners in both neurotypical and autistic populations through behavioral research. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique used to evaluate the hemodynamic response in the cortex and can be used to compare hemodynamic responses across multiple individuals (i.e., hyperscanning). The purpose of this study was to examine activation in empathy-related brain regions and assess brain synchrony between …