Digital Commons Network^™

Invisible Students, Visible Consequences: Leadership Under Fte Funding, Derek Bryant

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The full-time equivalent (FTE) funding model used by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) serves as a structural constraint that misaligns financial incentives with the missions of the 23 member institutions within it. This qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study, through interviews with system- and college-level leaders, found that this model underserves part-time, adult, and workforce students while simultaneously contributing to a resource instability that prioritizes enrollment over student success. The study concludes that any reform must require a redesigned funding model that first makes institutions whole, with a stable operational baseline of funding, by incorporating broader enrollment measures that better align …

Dreams Intervention Program: A Web-Based Classroom For Universal Human Values (Uhv), Roseline Florence Gomes, Lijo Thomas, Preethi Nanjundan

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

The study investigated the implementation and processes of the DREAMS Intervention Program (DIP) web-based classroom model for understanding Universal Human Values (UHV) among college-going youth mentors. The DREAMS (Desire, Readiness, Empowerment, Action, Mastery for Success) Intervention Program (DIP) is a transformative five-stage model that fosters psychosocial development and leadership skills among children and adolescents. This evidence-based three-year After-School-Program (ASP) was guided through the theoretical lens of motivation, goal-setting, and self-determination that pairs middle school underperformers with college-going youth mentors and senior adults from local communities. Universal Human Values (UHV) are deep-rooted values that are needed in the contemporary educational system …

Critical Connections: An Evaluation And Envisioning Of Partnership Between Art Museums, Schools, & Central Offices, Bennett R. Portillo

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates systemic impediments to implementing partnerships between schools, art museums, and school districts’ central offices. This research suggests cross-sector connection and worker solidarity as strategies for resisting extremists efforts to de-coordinate the U.S. education system. Research methods include a review of existing literature and interviews with practitioners for the purpose of identifying shared values, challenges, and misconceptions in partnerships. From an anti-deficit perspective, the data analysis critically evaluates educational non-profits’ corporate values and re-centers practitioners' interpersonal investments.

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Staff Council Meeting, May 2026, Marshall University Staff Council

Staff Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

An Editorial: If I Should Fall, Patrick Otto, David Weir

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Abstract

The future of Christian higher education will be determined by whether today’s leaders can identify and train successors who are called to the mission and vision of each institution. The task of transitioning to a new generation of leaders has become more complicated as research shows that the church in America is in decline. The increased use of adjuncts adds to the dilemma because it takes time and a single-minded focus to prepare high-level leaders.

We are at a critical time finding the right people to replace the Baby Boomer generation, which has led well past retirement age. As …

Employability Skills Development In Career And Technical Education: Administrators’ Perspectives, Emily Manuel, Bradley M. Coleman, Jon W. Ramsey, J. Shane Robinson, Mary Jo Self

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the United States have provided a combination of academic, technical, and employability skills to prepare students for college and careers. Employability skills, also known as soft skills, life skills, or behavioral skills, are developed through multiple CTE program components. This mixed-methods study explored administrators’ perceptions of Oklahoma CTE’s capacity to develop employability skills in students to meet the needs of the local community. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative findings suggest problem-solving, logical reasoning, and critical thinking were the highest-rated skills developed. …

Making The Case For Career Academies In Shaping Pre-Collegiate Students For Stem Career Pathways, Felix Quayson

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Career academies are increasingly important in preparing pre-collegiate high school students for STEM pathways by connecting academic learning, technical skill development, career identity, and postsecondary readiness. STEM-focused career academies function as structured bridges between secondary education, higher education, and the labor market. Through small learning communities, interdisciplinary curricula, employer partnerships, work-based learning, and early exposure to college and career expectations, career academies help students understand STEM not only as school subjects but as possible futures. Research suggests that career academies can improve student engagement, support school persistence, and strengthen labor market outcomes when implemented with fidelity. The article concludes that …

Write To Lead: A Document Analysis Of Leadership Communication, Rosenda B. Minella

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This qualitative study examined how executive leaders at an urban community college in the Southwestern United States used motivating language in written communication. Community colleges face increasing complexity, including enrollment declines, limited resources, and heightened expectations for student success. In this context, written leadership communication helps align organizational goals, build trust, and reinforce institutional values. Motivating Language Theory served as the primary coding framework, with findings interpreted through the lens of Authentic Leadership and informed by AACC Leadership Competencies. Using qualitative document analysis and an AI-assisted workflow to support coding consistency, the study analyzed publicly available executive communications produced over …

A Colonial Past Revisited: An Authethnography Of Outsider And Insider Identities In Indigenous Education Communities, Tara L. Deyoung

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

In the late 90s, at Rehoboth Christian school, a small private boarding school in northwest New Mexico, I had four different English teachers in my four years of high school. All but two of my teachers at that time would be considered outsiders to the community in which they taught. Teacher outsiders leave schools and districts at higher rates than insiders to a community; this is especially true for rural and remote areas (Hudson et al., 2020). The purpose of this autoethnographic study is to analyze my history as a cultural outsider and insider in relation to my core beliefs …

Behind The Scores: How Federal Education Legislation Influenced Dayton Public Schools’ Special Education System For Students Of Color, Simran Kaur

Aurora

This paper analyzes the district special education system of Dayton Public Schools’ through federal legislation requirements and state-reported data to evaluate access, implementation, and equity. Findings show that while the district meets several procedural requirements at federal levels, students with disabilities (especially Black students) face limited access to general education environments, family engagement, and disability identification at a local level. Risk ratios reveal subjective disability categories, which is contributing to the district’s low Achievement Gap Closing rate through the state-wide report card.

Built For This: An Autoethonographic Study Of A Journey Through Leadership Rooted In Reflection, Resilience, And Reinvention, Weslie Etienne

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative autoethnographic study examined how leadership was experienced, enacted, and sustained by a Black woman navigating district-level leadership within predominantly White institutional contexts. Grounded in Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and Black Feminist Thought, this research centered lived experience as a site of knowledge production and employed longitudinal journaling and artifact analysis to capture leadership development as a temporal, relational, and embodied process. The study was guided by three research questions: (1) How did race, gender, and institutional structures shape leadership development and experience? (2) How were leadership identities constructed, negotiated, and sustained through self-authored narratives? and (3) How could …

Exploring Catholic School Teachers' Perceptions Of Factors That Support Longevity: A Qualitative Study, Kelly A. Koval

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

John Staud, the executive director of Alliance for Catholic Education (2022) stated, “The greatest crisis facing Catholic education, and education in general, is the recruitment and retention of talented and committed teachers and leaders for our schools.” Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study is to illuminate and explore the practical experiences of teachers who have longevity in Catholic schools with respect to their perceived needs, challenges and support in the mid-to-later years of their career path. Through the lens of self-determination theory, this study aims to describe the internal and external factors that teachers describe as “playing a role” …

An Ex Post Facto Study: The Social Validity Of Two Evidence-Based Instructional Practices, K. Ryan Wennerlind

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For over 15 years, the opportunity for individuals with intellectual disabilities to continue education in inclusive postsecondary education programs has steadily risen (Baker et. al, 2018). Poor employment trends for these individuals has motivated institutions to provide more educational opportunities by increasing the number of such programs. Education is consistently linked to greater employment opportunities and the potential for greater earnings as more education is achieved (BLS, 2023). Research attests this connection by studying individuals’ experiences in education after high school. In addition to greater employment opportunities, those individuals receiving postsecondary education services are also earning wages at a higher …

Portraits Of Resiliency And Possibility: Women Superintendents As Trailblazers For Future Leaders, Lisa Michelle Martin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Women remain underrepresented in the superintendency despite comprising the majority of the educational workforce. This qualitative study examined how women superintendents access and sustain the role. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and using portraiture, the study explored how self-efficacy and contextual conditions shape leadership trajectories. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed by adopting narrative coding and cross-case portraits. The cultivation of self-efficacy, the accessibility of opportunities through connections, and the management of systemic obstacles influence trajectories. Sustainable leadership was strengthened by adaptive capacity and extensive professional networks. This study promotes an asset-based perspective and emphasizes the necessity …

Swept Into The Crisis: A Phenomenological Study Of Staff And Adaptive Leadership During The Pandemic, Alexandra Deremer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning in the fall of 2020, the pandemic created unparalleled challenges as schools reopened following extended closures, requiring school communities, with staff at every level, to rapidly adapt to evolving protocols, expanded job responsibilities, and ongoing uncertainty. This phenomenological study explored how building staff, such as custodians and teachers, perceived the leadership behaviors exhibited by principals during the implementation of COVID-19 disinfecting mandates and changes to school operations. Using Heifetz et al.’s (2009) adaptive leadership framework as a foundation, the intent of this research was to address three specific research questions that centered on staff perceptions of administrators’ response plans …

Caught In The Sap: An Argument For Satisfactory Academic Progress Reform Toward Equity For College Students, Z.W. Taylor, Sarah Pauter

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This issue article explores how satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policies act as a major filtering mechanism within the federal student aid process, with a particular focus on how these policies impact student persistence and equity. While the majority of research on financial aid has concentrated on the challenges of the FAFSA application process and how aid supports student retention, less attention has been given to how institutions develop and impose SAP policies and how students navigate these policies and maintain eligibility for federal and other forms of student aid. As a result, this issue article articulates a two-pronged argument to …

Readiness Roadblocks: Identifying Financial Challenges And Financial Wellness Among First-Year College Students, Vanessa Peña, Daniel J. Wilson, Susan P. Farruggia, Annette Wright, Aisha El-Amin

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This paper explores the financial challenges and financial wellness of first-year students from a large, public, urban research university in the Midwest. Utilizing a financial wellness lens, we uncover students’ financial preparation and identify key financial challenges they face in managing college expenses while exploring how institutions can better support students in understanding and planning for the financial costs of higher education. Our findings highlight students were encouraged to attend college but lacked financial preparation and support, limiting their ability to manage their college expenses; the financial advice and resources provided often did not align with students’ actual experiences and …

Examining How Disability Resource Professionals In Higher Education Enact Whiteness In Maintaining Power And Privileged Structures, Paula Possenti-Perez

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines how Whiteness operates with the delivery of disability-related accommodations on US college campuses. The research in this study focused on three questions: (a) How do disability resource professionals individually begin to make sense of their Whiteness personally? (b) How do disability resource professionals recognize and account for their White racialized frame and Whiteness in their individual professional judgment and decision-making? (c) How do disability resource professionals describe the ways Whiteness as ideology manifests in the field of disability resources, through its professional norms and systemic practices across disability resources in higher education? Twelve White disability resource professionals, …

From Farewell To Fáilte: The Voices Of Iowa’S Irish Daughters, Katie Hermanson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Irish women’s immigration to Iowa brought rich culture and lasting impacts, despite their contributions being silenced by history. Women left Ireland for economic opportunity and education abroad to support their impoverished families. Millions emigrated between 1830 and 1915, spreading across the world. The Irish women who came to the United States encountered discrimination and cultural stereotyping as they worked in domestic service, developed religious orders, taught school, owned businesses and raised families. Women bore the burden of supporting their families in Ireland by sending remittances home and communicating between countries. Their cultural identity as exiles dwelled in guilt for leaving …

A Critical Analysis Of The Influence Of Ideology On Education Governance In An Urban, Midwestern School District, Carl Bryan

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study examines how ideology operates within local education governance through a critical theoretical lens. As state and national education policies, accountability mandates, and partisan political discourse increasingly shape local school governance, this research investigates how power relations, ideological influences, and equity concerns are embedded in school board decision-making processes and public discourse. Addressing a gap in existing scholarship on ideology in education governance, the study employs a qualitative case study of an urban public school district in the Midwestern United States. Data sources include individual interviews with school board members, critical discourse analysis of school board meetings, and analysis …

Perceived Principal Influence Tactics And Early-Tenure Teacher Status, Vanessa Perez-Peterson, Christopher Benedetti

School Leadership Review

Teacher staffing stability remains a persistent challenge for schools, particularly during the early years of teachers’ placement. This study examined whether teachers’ perceptions of principal influence tactics were associated with early-tenure status, defined as 0–3 years at their current campus. Guided by influence tactics theory, a quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed using survey data from 167 certified teachers in Southeastern Texas. Participants completed the Influence Behavior Questionnaire–General (IBQ-G), and composite indices of noncoercive, soft-coercive, and hard-coercive tactics were included in a logistic regression model, along with teacher and principal demographic variables. None of the three influence-tactic categories was significantly associated …

Mind Over Measure: The Role Of Self-Care Practices In Mitigating Mental Health Strain Among K-12 Educators, Jerry Burkett, Ryan Hulla

School Leadership Review

Teacher mental health is a critical concern in K-12 education, with high rates of burnout demanding effective protective strategies. This study investigated the relationship between five dimensions of teacher self-care (Physical, Psychological, Emotional, Spiritual, and Professional) and overall mental health outcomes, while specifically exploring differences between elementary (K-5) and high school (9-12) educators. A sample of K-12 teachers completed the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) and the Self-Care Inventory. Correlational analysis found that all five self-care dimensions were significantly and positively associated with mental health, with Professional Self-Care demonstrating the strongest link (r=.48, p

Principals’ Questioning Practices As Drivers Of Innovation And School Improvement, Miguel M. Gonzales, Tiberio Garza, Elizabeth Leon

School Leadership Review

The art of asking questions plays a pivotal role in leadership and organizational change. This study examined the questioning practices of school principals for school improvement. The Discovery Skill of questioning, as illustrated in the Innovator’s DNA Framework outlined by Dyer and colleagues (2019), was adopted as the guiding framework. Data were gathered with a survey with open-response items from 124 school principals on their questioning behaviors for school improvement. Findings showed principals’ questioning from the qualitative investigation confirmed that most principal questioning habits resided in the description territory within the Innovator’s DNA Framework context. The findings suggest that school …

A Case Study Of Experiential Learning In A High-Poverty Middle School, Diona F. Brown

Dissertations

This study examined the impact of experiential learning on student achievement in a high-poverty Title I middle school and explored how school leaders perceive and support its implementation. Grounded in experiential learning, active learning, and social justice theories, this research aimed to better understand how instructional practices can improve outcomes for students facing economic and educational challenges. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-assessments administered to two groups of eighth-grade mathematics students: one receiving experiential learning instruction and the other receiving traditional instruction. Qualitative data were collected through surveys of school administrators …

Narrating Experience: How Undergraduate Social Work Students See Themselves In The Social Justice Curriculum, Emily C. Soener

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social justice is widely recognized as a foundational value of the social work profession, yet research indicates inconsistencies in how social justice is defined, taught, and experienced within social work education. This study examines how undergraduate social work students make meaning of social justice learning in relation to their own lived experiences. Using a critical narrative inquiry approach grounded in constructivist qualitative methodology, this study explores how students narrate their experiences of social justice education and how those narratives reveal tensions between professional ideals and classroom realities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven undergraduate social work students enrolled …

What We Want The Decision Makers To Know About First-Generation College Student Success: Insights From Students’ Perspectives, Monique N. Legendre

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

One-third of all undergraduates in the U.S. are first-generation college students (FGCS) (Center for First-Generation Student Success, 2020). Due to barriers such as inequitable access to rigorous college preparatory programs and coursework, limited resources and access to college and career counseling, financial constraints, and a lack of college knowledge such as the expectations, norms, and language of higher education, FGCS often arrive less prepared for college than continuing-generation students, impacting first-generation student success and persistence in post-secondary education (Broadhurst et al., 2023; Campoverdi, 2023; Cataldi et al., 2018; Hamilton et al., 2016; Katrevich & Aruguete, 2017; Osborne, 2023; Pratt et …

The Integrity Paradox: Reflections On Epistemic Substitution And The Ethical Failure Of Plagiarism Detection Systems, Elliott Ostler, Jeanne Surface

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

This article critiques the ethical authority granted to AI plagiarism detection systems, using humor to expose a serious contradiction in these algorithms. Through a case in which an original ethics manuscript is labeled 40.7% “non-original,” the authors argue that similarity scores are mistaken for judgments of misconduct. They introduce the concept of “epistemic substitution” to describe how tools that both judge originality and offer AI rewrites replace human authorship while mandating human accountability. The paper contends that this collapse of roles undermines scholarly integrity, conflates disciplinary fluency with plagiarism, and shifts ethical responsibility from humans to procedures. The authors call …

Future Ready Young Adults: Building Creative And Adaptive Thinkers, Robell Yeung

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Abstract of Project

Future Ready Young Adults: Building Creative and Adaptive Thinkers addresses a developmental gap in educational practices that prioritize technical proficiency over the psychological frameworks necessary for navigating systemic ambiguity. This project introduces an interdisciplinary, modular curriculum specifically designed for the challenges of emerging adulthood. By synthesizing Creative Problem Solving (CPS), James Clear’s habit architecture, and Martin Seligman’s PERMA model, the curriculum provides a structured pathway for cultivating creative self-efficacy and financial capability. Moving beyond traditional views of innate creativity, this model employs asset-based frameworks to treat cognitive agility and ambiguity tolerance as developable competencies. The project culminates …

Leveraging Data Analytics For Student Success: Lessons From Building An Analytics Program At Bentley University, Jane De Leon Griffin, Edlira Stefani, Rahat Sabyrbekov, Patrick Dickson, Annie Raunikar

Student Success Publications

Higher education institutions across the United States face an unprecedented convergence of challenges: a shrinking pool of college-aged students, persistent learning gaps from the COVID-19 pandemic, the destabilization of longstanding federal support structures, and the rising cost of attendance, which increases public skepticism about the value of higher education and challenges access for low-income learners. In this environment, student success is no longer simply a strategic priority—it is an institutional imperative.

One way in which Bentley University has responded to these pressures is by launching the Building a Data-Driven Student Success Ecosystem (BaSSE) initiative, a comprehensive analytics program designed to …

Application Of The Mattering Model By Generation In The Context Of Teacher Retention In Indiana K-12 Schools, Byron C. Sanders Ii

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When teachers see their actions as significant and recognize they would be missed if they were gone, they realize the significance of their individual impact (Wilfong & Donlan, 2024). Understanding what matters to teachers is an important factor in the process of teacher retention. This study examined the difference in four generations of Indiana K-12 teachers against the eight elements of mattering identified by Dr. Shelly Wilfong (2021). A survey instrument utilized the Foundational Elements of Mattering Survey for K-12 Teachers (Wilfong & Donlan, 2024) and the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale survey (1966a), and it was taken by …