Digital Commons Network^™

Belonging And The Lived Experiences Of Underrepresented Occupational Therapy Students, Daniel Cezar Da Cruz, Angela Murphy, Zara Mahmood

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Belonging has been explored in research in higher education with a focus on student engagement or performance and the impact of psychological aspects on individuals' learning. Few studies focused on underrepresented occupational therapy students’ belonging. Our research aimed to explore the lived experience of occupational therapy students regarding belonging at university. This phenomenological study was conducted with six occupational therapy students from the United Kingdom who volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was carried out through Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Three themes were constructed: Theme 1: Representation and belonging - “I was the only non-white person in the …

Vision Rehabilitation In Ot And Ota Curricula: A Survey To Academic Programs, Angela Butler, Beth A. Barstow

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapists are trained to evaluate and treat occupational performance problems. Client factors, such as vision, greatly impact an individuals’ ability to participate in meaningful occupations. New accreditation standards do not include language related to vision. Therapists must be prepared to evaluate and treat the increasing prevalence of visual challenges from children with cerebral visual impairment to older adults with age related conditions. This survey explored how vision rehabilitation is covered in accredited occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs and the expertise of faculty teaching vision content. A thirteen-question survey was sent to accredited programs. Questions included multiple response, …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Of Sexual Assault Investigations In Sexual Assault Response Teams (Sarts), Caitlyn Marie Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide further insight into sexual assault investigations and response from the lived experiences of Sexual Assault Response Team and Task Force criminal justice professionals. There has been limited research on Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs), and Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF) units, specifically encompassing the lived experiences of their members. This interpretative phenomenological study sought to explore these collaborative multidisciplinary teams from the lived experiences of the criminal justice professionals who represent them and to analyze the factors of sexual assault investigations and response that these members find significant.

In this …

Formación Del Docente En Medios Tecnológicos Y Audiovisuales Para La Enseñanza De Inglés Como Segundo Idioma A Través De La Lectura, Waleska Rivera Santiago

Theses and Dissertations

Esta disertación aplicada fue diseñada para determinar la formación tecnológica del docente de inglés como segundo idioma del Departamento de Educación en tecnología. Además, la revisión de literatura presentada mostró una variedad de términos como el uso de las TIC en el aula, el uso de tecnología para la enseñanza y aprendizaje en la sala de clases. A su vez, la revisión de literatura presentó sobre el uso de la tecnología para la adquisición lingüística de inglés como segundo idioma. Por consiguiente, la investigación tuvo como fin cuantificar la formación docente de inglés como segundo idioma y sus competencias tecnológicas …

Law Enforcement And The Need For Mental Health Collaboration, Jacquline Gillins-Hatcher

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the ongoing challenges and the necessity of enhanced collaboration between law enforcement agencies and mental health professionals in responding to mental health crises in the United States. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with law enforcement officers and mental health professionals, along with an analysis of existing records and policies.

Findings highlighted that crisis intervention team training improved officers’ ability to manage crisis situations. However, barriers such as limited interagency coordination, funding constraints, leadership challenges, and systemic policy gaps continued to hinder effective collaboration. Data from this research indicated that …

Exploring Teacher Self-Efficacy And Best Practices Of Teacher Preparation Programs To Teach The Science Of Reading, Tonya Robinson-Mcnair

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the content of teacher preparation programs to assess whether they integrate the science of reading and effectively equip English Language Arts teachers to instruct children in reading. Researchers have long examined the decline in national reading scores, identifying contributing factors such as the structure and content of teacher training programs. While many reading educators undergo formal training, these programs often lack a foundation in scientific research to support effective instructional methods. A teacher's confidence in teaching reading is influenced by both their preparation program and in-service training. However, many educators lack essential pedagogical knowledge and an understanding …

Perceptions Of The Role Principals Play As School Leaders: Current Charter School Perspective(S), Mary Ann Rosser

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide ongoing access to current information for charter school principals, charter school management organization (CMO), educational management organizations (EMO), and independent district level charter school leaders.

The researcher developed a qualitative research interview protocol. The interview protocol consisted of seven research questions, designed to elicit each participant’s perception of the key leadership elements associated with being a successful charter school principal. The researcher selected 10 charter school leaders to conduct in-depth interviews using qualitative research-gathering questions about charter school principals’ perspectives as the basis for generating research data. The researcher individually analyzed the interview …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Behavioral Classroom Expectations Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Jennifer E. Brewer

Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was that adolescents with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) were failing in general education courses. The purpose was to investigate how teachers’ perceptions and biases influenced EBD students. Participants included five teachers (two special education teachers and three general education teachers) from each of Grades 6, 7, and 8 recruited from social media. The study was guided by the case study research design, and the interview instrument was the Indepth Interview Protocol. Data analysis was guided by a coding system that facilitated searching the interview responses for themes.

Research Question 1 queried about forms …

Teacher Perception On The Implementation Of A Culturally Responsive Ela Curriculum, Erica Tate Dial

Theses and Dissertations

While the principles of culturally responsive and culturally relevant teaching hold transformative potential, they can only be fully realized if educators are genuinely equipped and empowered to implement them. This qualitative study examined teacher perceptions of an English Language Arts curriculum through the lens of culturally relevant and culturally responsive teaching. A diverse group of teachers, varying in experience, age, gender, and race, were interviewed to gather a range of perspectives on the implementation of this curriculum. The study focused on addressing the following research questions: 1. What are teachers’ perceptions of culturally responsive and culturally relevant instruction and academic …

Perspectives Of Corporate Instructional Design Experts On Effectiveness, Personal Traits And Attributes, And Technology, Thomas A. Gant

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological descriptive study explored corporate instructional design experts' perspectives on effectiveness, personal traits and attributes, and technology that enhance their expertise. Three central themes emerged: "Mastering Instructional Design: The Journey of Continuous Learning and Skill Development," highlighting the importance of mentorship, lifelong learning, and professional development; "Accessing Instructional Design Expertise Through Individual Strengths," emphasizing adaptability, problem-solving, and empathy; and "Navigating Technological Integration and Innovation in Instructional Design," showcasing the transformative role of tools such as virtual reality, learning management systems, and authoring software. Semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom with 10 corporate instructional designers with at least 10 years …

"Why Am I Still Here?": Identity-Conscious Supervision And The Experiences Of Black Residence Hall Directors, Lauren Teso

Dissertations of Practice

"Why Am I Still Here?": Identity-Conscious Supervision and the Experiences of Black Residence Hall Directors

Colleges and universities have prioritized hiring diverse individuals who hold identities that are representative of their student population. However, research has shown that colleges and universities have not been inclusive to the needs and support especially for individuals identifying as Black. Moreover, departments of housing and residence life have been identified as predominately White spaces. This narrative inquiry looks at the experiences of ten Black identifying individuals serving as Residence Hall Directors to better understand their relationship with their supervisor. Through two rounds of semi-structured …

The Correlation Between First-Dollar Promise Programs And Student Enrollment, Retention, And Completion, Jennifer Kotowski

Dissertations of Practice

Promise Programs gained popularity during the Great Recession to increase access to postsecondary education amid growing concerns regarding student loan debt. Promise Programs provide tuition-free scholarships to eligible students, typically based on non-merit criteria. Two common types of Promise Programs scholarships are first-dollar scholarships, which are awarded before any other grants, financial aid, or scholarships, and last-dollar scholarships, which are applied after all other grants, financial aid, or scholarships. Both models have been shown to positively impact student outcomes such as enrollment, semester-to-semester retention, and degree completion. This quantitative study determined whether student outcomes improved when a Promise Program scholarship …

Digital Community Policing: Using Social Media To Engage Students And Enhance Campus Safety, Dathan C. Jackson

Dissertations of Practice

Campus police increasingly rely on social media to reach students, yet little is known about how these efforts influence trust, collaboration, and perceptions of safety. This qualitative case study examined how one public research university’s police department uses social media to support community-policing goals. Data came from student interviews, departmental policy analysis, and a review of social media content.

Findings showed three central patterns. First, top-down, compliance-oriented messaging limited connection and failed to meet students’ expectations for open, two-way communication. Second, consistent and authentic engagement, online and in person, helped build shared responsibility and strengthened trust in campus safety efforts. …

From Marginality To Mattering: A Narrative Inquiry Into International Student Involvement In Higher Education, Nehemiah Jiyong Chung

Dissertations of Practice

From Marginality to Mattering: A Narrative Inquiry into International Student Involvement in Higher Education

International students contribute to the campus community through diversity, cultural aspects and to the local economy within the university community. However, they often face unique challenges to their involvement which leads to feelings of marginality and impacting their sense of belonging. Using Schlossberg’s theory of Marginality and Mattering, this narrative inquiry explored the lived experiences of international students in seeking involvement opportunities at mid to large public university in the Midwest of the United States. This study highlighted international students’ reflections on their initial attempts to …

“No Regrets, Just Adjustments”: The Role Of Mental Health Services In Redefining Community College Student Success, Leslie Wester

Dissertations of Practice

Mental health concerns have gained attention over the years especially with college students. As mental health concerns grow, mental health services have been increasing made available to students in community colleges in many areas of the United States. In Illinois, the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act was implemented in 2020 to ensure services are available to students.

With more community college students utilizing mental health services, what influence do those services have on students’ personal higher education journeys, specifically the goals that they have regarding their own success? How do these goals align with community college indicators of …

Apoyando A Nuestra Gente: Latino/A/É Staff Testimonios Of Mentorship, Cultural Wealth, And Resistance At Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Alex Torres

Dissertations of Practice

APOYANDO A NUESTRA GENTE: LATINO/A/É STAFF TESTIMONIOS OF MENTORSHIP, CULTURAL WEALTH, AND RESISTANCE AT HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS

Alex Torres, Ed.D. Department of Counseling and Higher Education Northern Illinois University, 2025 Quortne R. Hutchings, Director

Latino/a/é students are one of the fastest-growing student populations across universities and colleges in the United States. Understanding the experiences of the Latino/a/é support staff who work with these students, as well as the challenges they face at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), can be beneficial in finding where they can best be supported to fully serve students. This study explored the testimonios of Latino/a/é staff at HSIs in …

How Do First-Generation Latinx Students At An Hsi Community College Navigate Financial Aid Barriers?, Gema M. Mariscal

Dissertations of Practice

ABSTRACT

HOW DO FIRST-GENERATION LATINX STUDENTS AT AN HIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE NAVIGATE FINANCIAL AID BARRIERS?

Gema M. Mariscal, Ed.D.

Department of Counseling and Higher Education

Northern Illinois University, 2025

Gudrun Nyunt, Director

This dissertation looks at how first-generation Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) community college navigate financial aid barriers. While there has been plenty of research on HSIs around enrollment and persistence, much less has been said about the daily struggles students face with financial aid; the forms, the systems, and the policies that often feel overwhelming. Guided by critical race theory (CRT), Latino critical theory (LatCrit), and …

Understanding The Challenges And Satisfaction Among The Medical Professional Preceptors, Cornelia Ko

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study evaluates the Penn Medicine Family Medicine Clerkship program through a mixed-methods approach, exploring the challenges and factors influencing the satisfaction of medical professional preceptors when precepting students. A quantitative survey with 54 preceptor participants reveals the top challenges preceptors face: workload, conflicts with patient care, and limited clinical space. Despite this, there is strong support for the program, with 89% of preceptors enjoying the role and 85% expressing willingness to continue to precept for the next three years. Finally, data analysis shows no statistical correlation between preceptor motivation with gender, ethnicity, age group, years of serving, or total …

Where Honors Education And Faculty Development Meet, John Zubizarreta, Victoria M. Bryan

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Development is a contradictory terrain, as seen in the persistence of multiple and conflicting goals, uneven and unequal outcomes, and varied definitions and approaches to teaching and learning in higher education. How might universities support faculty development as a process rather than as isolated educational events? This collection highlights inherent complexities and challenges in sustained professional development and presents new ways of supporting faculty and designing curricula to encourage learning-centered teaching, experiential learning, collaborative undergraduate research, progressive forms of assessment, and other dynamic, inspiring forms of instruction. Engaging in interdisciplinary thinking ranging from Education and Education Policy, Biochemistry, Philosophy, Environmental …

Transforming Partnerships: Developing A Model For Experiential Learning In Honors, Grace Troupe, Tamy Burnett

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Although the collaboration between the University Honors Program (UHP) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and UNL's Center for Transformative Teaching involves several elements, this essay focuses on one element with significant impact: the development of curricular components and co-curricular programming facilitating students’ engagement with experiential learning. Experience-based education is learning that occurs through direct, hands-on experiences such as internships, research, education abroad, and teaching practicums. When UNL moved toward requiring experiential learning for all undergraduate students, the partnership between UHP and CTT was transformational in facilitating UHP’s building on its existing framework for experiential learning and thus serving as …

The Impact Of Daybook Reflection Practices In The Honors First-Year Seminar, Michelle Miles, Rita L. Bailey

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The National Collegiate Honors Council contends that an “honors college or program [should provide] opportunities for measurably broader, deeper, and more complex learning-centered and learner-directed experiences for its students than are available elsewhere in the institution.” We feel that this philosophical premise indicates the importance of incorporating semi-structured written reflection practices into first-year honors seminar courses. Furthermore, the primarily affirmative response of both students and instructors to the usefulness of Daybooks, in terms of internal and external course application, indicates that by incorporating written reflection into a course designed to acclimate first-year students to honors methodology, instructors are optimally positioning …

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

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

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

How Inclusive Are Degree Programs In Operations Research And Analytics In The U.S.?, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Tayo Fabusuyi, Elham Hesari, Salina Chu

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

Academic programs in colleges and universities in the United States have increasingly embraced principles of equity and inclusion to support student success and diversity within professions. Innovations in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in university programs require baseline data on students, faculty and administrators, curricula, and programmatic support. A review of data shows that underrepresented groups in the US workforce have limited visibility in operations research and analytics. A review of DEI-related research reveals some relevant insights including a gap in studies specific to operations research and analytics.

To provide evidence in support of DEI initiatives in OR/analytics, we describe …

Increasing Humanities And Stem Pipelines: Associations Between Student Characteristics And Academic Outcomes, David Wutchiett, A. W. Logue, Zun Tang, Vita Rabinowitz

Publications and Research

Humanities and STEM disciplines may face shortages of college graduates, particularly from underrepresented demographic groups. Using multilevel generalized linear models, we evaluated associations between student characteristics and 6-10-year academic outcomes in humanities and STEM pipelines from associate’s major declaration through post-enrollment wages among 92,169 first-time community college students. Nonarts humanities majors were more likely to graduate and begin graduate study. STEM majors earned higher wages after terminating their studies. To increase the output and diversity of the humanities and STEM pipelines, students’early selection of humanities-related majors should be increased, and STEM students’persistence and degree completion should be prioritized.

Opportunities For Inter-Cultural Awareness In The Education Of Dental Hygienists, Elizabeth J. Sandell, Lynnette Engeswick

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Professional standards require that dental hygienists deliver culturally appropriate services and demonstrate respect for patients whose cultural beliefs and values may conflict with normative clinical recommendations. The present study provided a snapshot of undergraduate students in one dental hygiene education program about the students' Intercultural competence (ICC): "the capability to understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonality accurately." Rather than a longitudinal study of a student cohort, investigators sought to understand if program outcomes were congruent with the stated visions and missions of the university, co llege, and department. The participants completed an Informed Consent before taking the …

Admissions Advisors' Perceptions Of Adult Learners, Tisha-Stephanie Tovar

Theses and Dissertations

Many assume that college campuses are mostly populated by traditional students fresh out of high school, but this is far from reality. A significant portion of students are non-traditional, or adult learners (ALs), aged 25 to 50. These students typically hold a high school diploma or GED, are financially independent, and have completed little to no previous college coursework (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011). ALs now represent nearly 40% of higher education students (Singh et al., 2021), bringing with them a wealth of life experience as they balance complex careers and personal responsibilities.

This study explored the needs and motivations of …

Obstacles And Supports As Experienced By Foster Youth In Higher Education: Ventura County Community College District, Breanna Webb

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological research study assesses the obstacles faced by foster youth and the support available to them while attending the Ventura County Community College District. As it currently stands, about four and a half percent of foster youth in the United States go on to earn a college degree. Very little research has been done to explore the effectiveness and outcomes of the support offered to foster youth. Data for this research study was collected using the General Self-efficacy scale and structured interviews. Each of the ten participants was given a demographics survey and a Self-Efficacy scale survey and …

Best Practices For Addressing Invisible Labor Among Black Faculty At Predominately White Institutions, Candice Raynor

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was on challenges impacting Black professors obtaining tenure, with the goal of establishing best practices aimed at preventing and addressing these challenges. The approach was conducting an assessment of race-related obstacles Black professors encountered at predominately White postsecondary colleges and universities. A review of the existing literature found that invisible labor, also known as cultural taxation, has long existed in the academy and has been documented in several studies. Cultural taxation is a term coined early in the 1990s to describe labor that is expected to be performed by someone because of their racial identity, …

African American Vernacular English: A Qualitative Study On Its Use In American Foreign Language Classrooms, Rickkay L. T. King

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examines how foreign language (FL) instructors perceive Black students' use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the classroom. Historically, negative connotations of AAVE have colored the perspectives of the general public and educators alike. This collective case study of FL instructors gathered in-depth data through semi-structured interview questions. These research findings have the potential to impact world language curriculums in America positively, particularly those tailored to students with home language backgrounds different from Standard American English (SAE). Despite increasing overall college enrollment and bachelor’s degree attainment, Black students continue to have some of the lowest …

Fact Book, Academic Year 2024, Systems Intelligence And Data Analytics, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Fact Book

The Fact Book presents important campus information in data tables and charts. Included are details regarding students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Generally, data are broken out by college, rank, level, gender, age and ethnicity for both spring and fall semesters, past to present. There are a few academic year tables that include information on tuition & fees, student credit hours by program, and degrees conferred. We wish to thank the many individuals and departments at the University for their contributions to the Fact Book.