Digital Commons Network^™

Trans* Student Experiences In Higher Education, Megan Chaffee, Deborah King

New York Journal of Student Affairs

This paper reviews literature on trans* students' experiences in higher education, examining their obstacles and institutional approaches to inclusion. The study investigates challenges regarding chosen names and pronouns, access to facilities, extracurricular involvement, and the impact of increasing anti-trans* legislation. Despite growing visibility, trans* students continue to report harassment, discrimination, and a decreased sense of belonging. The paper explores current Title IX interpretations and recommends that higher education administrators develop inclusive policies, enhance professional development, and create supportive campus environments that foster trans* students' academic success and overall well-being.

Exploring The Visibility Of Mission, Vision, And Values In Allied Healthcare Education, Matthew Vraa

Journal of Innovation in Health Sciences Education

Introduction: This study investigated the visibility and accessibility of mission, vision, and values statements on websites of entry-level allied health care programs (occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology). The primary objective was to determine the ease of locating these statements on program websites and how their visibility varies by program characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 300 randomly selected accredited programs (100 per profession) across the United States. Each program’s website was evaluated to determine the visibility and accessibility of its mission, vision, and values statements, defined by their presence within two clicks of the homepage. …

An Assessment Of Basic Needs Insecurities In Grand Valley State University Residence Halls, Matthew Bristol

Masters Theses

Basic needs insecurity scholarship in higher education consistently highlights the need to provide more and better support to students. Little research has been done to address basic needs insecurity in residence halls, and this study is the first to use the #RealCollege survey to evaluate basic needs insecurity among residential students. I use the results of the survey tell the story of what it is like for Grand Valley State University students to face basic needs insecurity while living on campus, to assess what resources participants use to secure their basic needs and offer recommendations for improved support offerings to …

Perspectives Of Black Male Administrators On Gaining Administrative Roles At Community And Technical Colleges, Marcusantonio Gunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed in this study is that there is a low number of Black male administrators at community and technical colleges (CTCs) throughout the United States, despite widespread organizational practices of adopting diversity and equity policies, implementing mentoring programs, and providing professional development. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Black male administrators’ perceptions of hiring barriers and their recommendations to improve the professional pathway to employment at CTCs. Guided by critical race theory in education, data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight Black male administrators who are serving or have served in …

Does Teach Lead To More Teachers? Evaluating The Effects Of The Federal Teach Program, Daniel Sparks

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Teachers are critical to education production. Yet, recruiting and retaining teachers has remained challenging, particularly in high need fields, at schools serving a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, and from racially diverse backgrounds. To incentivize enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to support teacher candidates through degree completion, the federal government implemented the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant in 2008. The TEACH Grant offers undergraduate and graduate students up to $16,000 and $8,000 in grant aid, respectively, to pursue degrees in high need teaching fields. I use difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effects …

Improving Equity In Financial Aid Policy For Students With Disabilities, Ryan S. Wells, S. Kate Farmer, Morgan D. Woroner

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Disabled college students face significant barriers to degree completion, including systemic inequities in financial aid policies. This Issue Article investigates financial aid policies that unfairly limit aid to disabled students, at times forcing them to choose between maximizing their financial aid and the recommended accommodations to which they have a legal right, such as a reduced courseload. We highlight how current policies, including Pell Grant proration, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, and lifetime funding caps, create financial and administrative burdens that disproportionately affect disabled students. By examining federal and state-level policy responses, we identify both promising practices and persistent gaps …

Teacher Recruitment And Retention As A School Improvement Strategy, Carl Bryan

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Fewer issues have received more attention by education researchers than understanding the global teacher shortage, especially in public schools. Concurrent with this issue is the concern that the rate of teacher hires is insufficient to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse body of students. This phenomenon gains significance considering policymakers’ calls for restructuring the way schools do business to meet the needs of students and schools in the era of school accountability. It is crucial not to overlook the substantial body of research which suggests how the practices under No Child Left Behind have complicated the retention of teachers …

The Frequency Of Academic Advising: A Quantitative, Predictive Study On Postsecondary Second-Year Student Satisfaction, Angelia M. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to examine the relationship between student satisfaction with academic advising, the frequency of academic advising activities, and the type of postsecondary institution (community college or public university). This study is important in providing valuable context for re-evaluating how academic advising efficacy is assessed and structured in postsecondary institutions. Through convenience sampling of second-year community college and public university students, data was collected via a self-paced online survey of 110 participants. In addition to demographic information, the survey incorporated the Academic Advising Inventory to measure student satisfaction with academic advising. Multiple linear …

Redefining The Role Of Assistant Principals: A Phenomenological Study On Assistant Principal Perceptions Of Principal Preparation, Latonya Freeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the on-the-job experiences and formal preparation of assistant principals in Douglas Lee School District that they perceive prepares them to be effective principals. The theory guiding this study is Burns’ theory or transformational leadership theory as it emphasizes the skillset needed to become an effective principal. The central research question was: What are the perceptions of secondary assistant principals regarding their preparedness for principalship? The hermeneutic phenomenological study is situated in a school district in South Carolina. The sample consisted of middle and high school assistant principals. The data collection …

Immersive Learning In Higher Education: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Jamel R. Pittman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of implementing immersive learning technologies in virtual environments for higher education faculty at Coastal Bay University. Guided by constructivist learning theory, which emphasizes the construction of knowledge through firsthand experiences, this study explored how faculty designed and implemented immersive learning environments to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Data were collected through interviews, journal prompts, and a focus group with faculty from various disciplines. The findings revealed that immersive learning technologies enhanced student engagement, promoted critical thinking, and facilitated the real-world application of knowledge. Faculty participants also highlighted …

Paying The Education Debt: How Community Colleges Can Lead In Restoring Higher Education Access In U.S. Prisons, Tammy Zimmer

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Discusses paying education debt with respect to how community colleges can lead in restoring higher education access in United States prisons.

"The question is no longer can we provide higher education in prison, it’s will we. For those of us already engaged in this work, the answer is clear. I invite you to join us."

Ua21 What's New, Wku Institutional Equity

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the Office of Institutional Equity.

• Demir, Ena. A Message from the Executive Director
• Training Opportunities: Stay Informed & Engaged
• Understanding Title VI
• Student Accessibility Center Joins the Office of Institutional Equity
• Need Workplace Accommodations?
• Web Accessibility Regulations
• Relevant Information
• Stop Campus Hazing Act
• Meet the Team

The Relationship Between A School Psychologists Workplace Stressors To Their Home Life Functioning, Trevor Burns

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

School psychologists face increasing professional demands due to rising caseloads, paperwork requirements, and staffing shortages, which contribute to elevated levels of occupational stress. Although prior research has examined job-related stress within the profession, little attention has been given to how these stressors may impact practitioners’ personal and home lives. The purpose of this study was to examine how occupational stress experienced by school psychologists relates to stress experienced in their home lives. A total of 176 practicing school psychologists from across the United States completed an anonymous online survey, which included the School Psychologist Distress Inventory (SPDI) and a newly …

The Impact School Leaders Have On Special Education Teacher Retention: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Two Elementary School Leaders, Nancy S. Bowers

All Dissertations

School leaders shape school culture and job satisfaction, impacting teachers’ decisions to remain or exit schools. The demand for special education teachers has continued to increase. I studied the impact school leaders have on increasing special education teacher retention by answering the following research question: How can school leaders increase the retention rates of special education teachers? This qualitative case study was guided by two theoretical frameworks, transformational leadership theory and critical disability theory, which informed the research design. I conducted the research at two public elementary schools in a suburban community in South Carolina. The findings revealed school leaders …

Collaborative Action In Education: Empirical Explorations Of The Role Of Partnerships In College Readiness Programs, Jose A. Sanchez

Dissertations

Education gaps exist in the United States in large part because not everyone has equal access to the educational resources or role models that will prepare them to seek a college education. To help combat this phenomenon, Federal and State Governments have promoted college readiness programs via collaborative partnerships between school districts, on the one hand, and colleges and universities, on the other.

To better understand the role that partners can play in creating and sustaining college-readiness programs, this study focused on the history and current practices of collaborations involving oversight of college readiness programs in two school districts. Partnership …

Human Resource Management And Black Teachers’ Employee Experience In K-12 Urban Public Schools, Danielle Renee Cooper-Williams

Dissertations

National teacher data indicate that publicly funded schools in the United States struggle to retain Black teachers in high-need urban areas and in comparison to other groups (Carver-Thomas & Darling Hammond, 2017). This qualitative investigation employed case study methodology. The case study focused on one school within a charter management organization (CMO), exploring interactions among Black teachers and their supervising administrators at the site and management organization levels. The study was organized around concepts articulated at the nexus of teacher retention scholarship and human resource management theory, two bodies of literature yet to be substantially integrated to understand Black teachers’ …

Deaf Faculty Members’ Experiences In Higher Education Institutions, Stephanie Proctor Horvath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deaf faculty members bring diverse perspectives to higher education, yet their experiences remain underexplored in academic research. The critical first year of teaching can shape their career experiences, revealing both opportunities for growth and systemic barriers. The purpose of this study was to understand deaf faculty members’ experiences, focusing on their transition into academic roles, the accommodations provided in their workplaces, and the challenges they faced. This study employed a qualitative phenomenological design, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 15 Deaf faculty members, whose teaching experience ranges from 1 to 30 years. In the reflexive thematic analysis and AI-coding of this data, …

Does Teach Lead To More Teachers? Evaluating The Effects Of The Federal Teach Program, Daniel Sparks

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teachers are critical to education production. Yet, recruiting and retaining teachers has remained challenging, particularly in high need fields, at schools serving a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, and from racially diverse backgrounds. To incentivize enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to support teacher candidates through degree completion, the federal government implemented the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant in 2008. The TEACH Grant offers undergraduate and graduate students up to $16,000 and $8,000 in grant aid, respectively, to pursue degrees in high need teaching fields. I use difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effects …

Reflection On The ‘Power Of Us’ Conference: How Mainstream Schools In England Offer Provision To Children With Special Educational Needs (Sen), Grace H A Cooper

Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal

The majority of children in England with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) are educated within mainstream schools. Due to the broad range of needs of children, it is essential that mainstream schools are provided with adequate funding, preparation and training to ensure that the inclusion of every child is achievable and expected. Furthermore, sometimes schools feel that they cannot offer ample provision to give every child an equitable access to learning and therefore they are directed to SEND schooling – can a mainstream school be considered inclusive if they cannot support all children? This article will consider these arguments …

Breaking The Cycle Of Burnout In Financial Aid, Ashlee Thayer

Masters Projects

The purpose of this project is to explore the causes and effects of burnout in financial aid staff and what potential strategies could be implemented to support staff experiencing burnout. Lack of work-life balance and increased work-related stress are a few causes of burnout seen throughout the literature. The intention of this project is to create a workshop that provides managers and directors with the necessary tools to identify the sign of burnout in their employees and provide the necessary support to mitigate the effects of burnout. Addressing and preventing burnout in financial aid staff will increase staff retention and …

The Evolution Of Schooling: From Industrial Obedience To Techno-Autonomy, Seb Taylor, Ron Roberts Ii

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

This paper examines the enduring architecture of the American education system as a mechanism designed for compliance, not creativity. Rooted in 19th-century industrial logic, the structure of schooling, its physical design, time constraints, and assessment methods, has remained largely static despite seismic cultural and technological shifts. Through historical analysis and contemporary critique, this work interrogates the persistence of standardized methods, institutional prestige, and top-down instruction as barriers to meaningful learning and value creation. Drawing from interdisciplinary research and live case studies, including Alpha School’s AI-powered, mastery-based model, the paper advances the concept of techno-education: a student-centered paradigm informed by feedback …

14-Year Retrospective Review Of Audiology Graduate Admission Data: Comparative Analysis With Other First Professional Health Programs, Alyssa R. Needleman, Patricia A. Gaffney, Erica B. Friedland, Josiah Alamu

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Demographic and cognitive data on students entering audiology programs is incomplete, and there is a lack of comparison among audiology students and those entering other first professional health (FPH) programs. This paper is the first of a multi-part series to provide evidence into the characteristics of the typical audiology student and their graduate outcomes. This is valuable for improving recruiting, admissions, retention, and success rates of audiology programs. A comprehensive descriptive analysis of admission criteria was performed for students who entered the NSU Doctor of Audiology (AuD) program over the last 14 years. Additionally, NSU admissions data was compared …

Teacher Inquiry: How Mathematics Discourse And Hands-On Learning Impact Student Outcomes And Teacher Attitudes, Mary-Katherine Miller

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this inquiry, the teacher worked alongside a university mentor to develop, monitor, and analyze the teacher’s wonderings. In a 3rd grade classroom, the teacher wanted to explore how hands-on and discourse strategies could impact mathematics achievement for all students. Specifically, the teacher explored how utilizing hands-on activities and discourse strategies in collaborative groups could lead to increased engagement and better outcomes for her exceptional student education (ESE) population in learning multiplication and division. Throughout the inquiry, the teacher used checklists, anecdotal notes, and student exit ticket scores to monitor student progress. At the end of the inquiry cycle, the …

An Exploratory Analysis Of U.S. Academically Intensive Charter Schools (Aics), Robert Maranto, Jamison White, Sean Woytek

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Considerable amounts of research have discussed "No Excuses" charter schools preparing traditionally disadvantaged students for higher education. Yet, no scholarly work has identified or investigated U.S. academically intensive charter schools (AICS) that were founded to enable students to excel academically as much as their abilities and efforts allow. Here, we offer an exploratory study of AICS, defining them, describing the lived experience of an AICS principal, presenting the first national data comparing AICS campus and student characteristics to those of other charter schools, and assessing whether, nationally, AICS succeed on their own terms, with relatively high academic achievements. The data …

A Comparative Case Study Of Mentoring Practices By National Board Certified And Non-Certified Teacher Mentors, Bethany Mcclure

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As preservice teacher candidates engage in field experiences that shape their development of teacher identity, it is important to examine their perceptions of the mentoring process. This study explored how preservice teacher candidates construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explored the perceptions of mentor teachers, both National Board Certified, and non-National Board Certified, as they facilitated the learning and growth of their mentees. Many prior studies on the mentoring process exist, however, a gap in the literature that was identified and explored through this study included the impact that National Board Certified Teachers have …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence As An Intervening Variable Between The Digital Government Strategy And Competency Development "An Applied Study At Sharjah Police Sciences Academy ", Elsayed Kamal Risha, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Naqbi

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The study aimed to determine the impact of the digital government strategy on competencies development, through artificial intelligence as an intervening variable, and to achieve the objectives, the study relied on the quantitative approach and the questionnaire was used as the main tool for collecting data. The study community represented officers, non-commissioned officers and individuals at the Sharjah Academy for Police Sciences, and the study sample amounted to 30 affiliates, i.e. the total number of employees in the Competency Development Department at the Academy. The study reached a set of results, the most prominent of which are:

- The existence …

A Case Study In Evolving Academic Governance: Democratic Accountability And Academic Capitalism, William C. Schulz, Denise Dezolt

Higher Learning Research Communications

As the higher education market becomes both more competitive and fragmented (as well as controlled through uncertain and changing regulatory regimes), and as those whom the higher education market serves become more discerning as consumers who apply proven customer behaviors within the market, universities must re-evaluate their internal governance systems. Re-evaluation of customer behaviors and governance systems may allow universities to become more inclusive, responsive, and adaptive within an academic capitalism setting.

In this case study, we present a research-based and integrated “Shared, Informed, Stakeholder-Engaged Governance” model. We describe how a large online university developed and implemented a model that …

Du Rural Summit 2025: Full Conference Proceedings, 2025 Du Rural Summit

DU Rural Summit Conference Proceedings

Proceedings of the DU Rural Summit 2025, held June 27-27 in the Pueblo Convention Center. A gathering dedicated to addressing the unique opportunities and challenges facing rural schools and their communities.

Establishing An Evaluative Mechanism For Cura Personalis, Jarrod Stadnyk

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Cura personalis is an important characteristic of Jesuit education. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. helped to focus attention on the importance of cura personalis in Jesuit education. However, rather than simply being individual care for the whole person, cura personalis is an illusive concept that is easier to recite than apply in practice. This article proposes an evaluative mechanism that can be used to gauge a person’s or organization’s depth in providing cura personalis for higher education students. The Higher Education Cura Personalis Reflection Chart within this article is a new mechanism that can help guide the process of determining what …

Towards Accountability: A Primer On The Space Debris Problem And An Overview Of The Legal Issues Surrounding It, William Schonberg

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Since 1957, the near-Earth population of trackable space objects has grown in number to over 36,000. Of these 36,000+ trackable objects now in low Earth orbit, just a few thousand are working spacecraft. The rest are Earth-orbiting objects which are no longer operational and are considered to be space junk. Because this junk can no longer receive maneuvering commands from its Earth-based owners, the survivability of other spacecraft traveling through or operating in Earth orbit can be jeopardized by the impacts of any number of pieces of this space junk, whose origins can usually be traced back to defunct satellites. …