Digital Commons Network^™

Relational Employability Matrix (Rem): A Guided Framework For Self-Reflection And Professional Growth, Ros Sambell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Relational Employability Matrix (REM) is a practical tool for self-assessment and planning, grounded in the Relational Employability Framework (REF). The REF was developed and tested by Cook through a body of research that includes a narrative review, doctoral thesis, and applied studies (Cook, 2022; Cook, 2023a; Cook, 2023b; Cook, Doherty, & Wallace, 2024; Cook & Sambell, 2025). It brings together three interconnected dimensions of relational employability: Foundational Career Development and Identities, Interactions with Others, and Contributions to Local and Global Challenges. The REF works as a reflective, practice-focused guide for building these capabilities over time. The REM takes these …

Physical Education And Sport-Focused Degree Programs: An Exploration Of Symbolic Boundaries And Policy Negotiations, Ellen Jones, David Aldous, Andrew P. Lane, Dawn Penney

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article explores the negotiation of contemporary policy agendas in physical education and sport-focused degree programs. Centring on one Higher Education Institution in Wales, the article pursues three foci in negotiations that are integral to the everyday work, relations and identities of academic staff: the commodification of university sport; quality learning and teaching; and changing relations with industry. Conceptually, the article draws upon Bernstein’s concept of symbolic boundaries to critically explore the translation and enactment of different policy agendas, and pursue constraints and possibilities arising for subject, professional and learner identities. Data from focus groups and interviews with 16 participants …

Exploring Student Satisfaction In Learning With Podcast Applications: A Qualitative Study Based On Open-Ended Questions, Indah Permatasari, Peny Meliaty Hutabarat, Erni Adelina

Jurnal Vokasi Indonesia

This study aims to explore student satisfaction with the use of podcasts as a learning medium in the Non-News Radio Production course. A qualitative approach was used, with three open-ended questions posed to students: (1) What different experiences did you have when listening to the course material via podcast?(2) Did listening to the course material through podcasts help you focus on understanding the material? And why? And (3) provide your opinion on the Adapto podcast material shared during the Non-News Radio Production course in the 4th semester. The data obtained was thematically analyzed to identify the main emerging themes. The …

Lived Experiences Of Student-Parents In Higher Education Who Utilize The Childcare Subsidy Program, Kindra Moore-Smith

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

This paper examines a phenomenological study describing the experiences of student-parents who use the Parents for Higher Education program at Eastern Community College. The theory that guided this study was McClusky’s theory of margin, which addresses the support and services adults need to accomplish their goals in life. This framework provided a connection that explained the importance of childcare subsidies and the needs met while attending classes for community college students—the transcendental phenomenology approach used. The setting for this study was the virtual platform Zoom. The study was conducted using 10 participants, all student-parents who participated in the childcare grant …

The Interplay Between The International And European Dimension: A Case Study Of The School Of Management Of Politecnico Di Milano, Mattia Quinteri

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Approaches In Preparing Transfer Degree Students For University Study: A Case Study Of A Community College In Rural Southwest Virginia, Melissa Suzanne Mckinney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to understand approaches for preparing students for their transition to a four-year university following completion of a transfer-focused associate degree at a community college. The theory guiding this study was Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory. The study followed an embedded, single case study design and included faculty members, staff, administrators, and students within the transfer division, along with general college staff at a rural community college in southwest Virginia. The study used surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather data which was analyzed to identify relevant themes and unique approaches to preparing transfer …

Introduction 16(6) 2024: Special Issue: Emerging Scholar Research Summaries, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Understanding Perceptions Of Lived Transition Experiences Of Supplemental Instruction Leaders At A Historically Black University, Cecil Wayne Mayhall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand perceptions of lived transition experiences for supplemental instruction (SI) leaders at a large public historically Black research university in the Southeastern United States. Using the transition theory of Schlossberg et al. as a theoretical framework, this study attempted to answer the central research question: How do supplemental instruction (SI) leaders at a large public historically black research university in the Southeastern United States perceive their lived transition experiences? Sub-questions attempted to address participants' perception of the situation, self, support, and strategies when moving in, through, and out of, the SI …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 8, Issue 2, Fall 2024

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2024 issue (Volume 8, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

The Fall 2024 issue presents practical ideas and prompts for those who teach at colleges and universities in a variety of disciplines. Articles ways to use popular culture (in this case, reality TV) to teach higher-level concepts; strategies for adapting Lesson Study techniques for preservice teachers; and a review of McNair et al.'s 2022 book on creating student ready colleges.

Should We Clear The Cobwebs In Our Minds Or Dismantle Racial Structures? Reflections On The Lack Of Critical Thinking Of Higher Education Staff In The Uk, Chrissie Da Costa

Journal of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

Higher education in the UK constantly emphasises  critical thinking for students. However, analysis of comments made about *Black students and staff indicate that some academic staff fail to critically analyse their thoughts, words, and deeds. This paper sets out to analyse these utterances of HE staff and to investigate whether they actively reproduce and are intended to reproduce racist practices in HE, which could affect the experience, performance, and confidence of some of these students and staff who identify as Black and Global Majorities.  Applying critical race theory and socio-ideological analysis of language (Bakhtin 1981 and Voloshinov 1973) to analyse …

The Promise Of Lived Experience: Assessing Race And Merit After Sffa, Taonga Leslie, Claire Comey

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

70 years after Brown, students of color remain underrepresented in U.S. colleges and universities and in professions like law, medicine, business, and academia, which, in turn, drives inequitable social and economic outcomes. Recent Supreme Court decisions threaten to further exacerbate this inequity by preventing schools from considering race when making admissions decisions and shaping their classes. This article contends that by placing greater emphasis on applicants’ experiences of race, admissions officers can more accurately assess merit, improve services to disadvantaged communities, and achieve the pedagogical benefits of diversity. The article situates the lived experience approach within a well-established tradition permitting …

Faculty And Staff Pay Satisfaction And The Impact On Organizational Commitment And Retention, Jennifer Hennings

Dissertations

This mixed-method study explored the relationships between pay satisfaction, organizational commitment, retention, and seniority among faculty and staff at a private, four-year institution in the Midwest. The research investigated how satisfaction with a compensation program influences organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The researcher used a quantitative method to study the impact of pay satisfaction on organizational commitment and turnover intention. Additionally, a quantitative method explored relationships between seniority and turnover intention. Findings revealed positive relationships between pay satisfaction and organizational commitment, along with pay satisfaction and turnover intention. Findings also revealed positive relationships between seniority, measured as years of service, …

Sel For Well-Being And Equity In Higher Education, Colleen Conley, Deborah Donahue-Keegan

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The understood overarching purpose of higher education is to prepare students, typically young adults, with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate, thrive in, and be contributing members of society (Hurtado, 2019). In this time of unprecedented cross-sectoral complexity and volatility on a global scale, institutions of higher education must consider a more expansive set of learning and competency outcomes (Gopalan et al., 2022). This paradigm shift is essential given the alarming rise in mental health challenges on college and university campuses, deep polarization, and an increased demand for prosocial skills in workplaces across sectors (Dermody et al., 2022; Padurean …

The Experiences And Perceptions Of Open Educational Resources Creators And Adopters: A Phenomenological Study, Renee J. Lindsey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study is to describe the experiences and perceptions of open educational resource creators and adopters at southeastern United States community colleges. The theory guiding this study is the connectivism learning theory developed by Siemens and Downes as it addresses how learning occurs through digital resources and tools. The central research question for this study is what are the lived experiences of community college educators who adopted and created open educational resources? The research design method for this qualitative study is a hermeneutical phenomenology to focus on the lived experiences of the study participants. The …

Modalities And Meaning: Instructor Adaptation And Student Spiritual Formation Across Higher Education Learning Environments, Stephanie D. Sorensen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the dynamic instructor and student experiences inherent in the evolving modalities of higher education. The first article synthesizes qualitative research about the challenges and successes faced by instructors transitioning to online learning environments, especially in their interactions with content and learners. Emphasizing the importance of support for instructors and institutions, it sets the stage for understanding the nuanced experience of online teaching. The second article presents an exploratory case study of a religious education professor teaching across four modalities. His experience emphasized adaptive strategies and underscored the pivotal role of instructor preparation. Findings revealed the instructor's proactive …

Predicting Students At Risk Of Dropping Out In The College Of Medicine At Mohammed Bin Rashid University Of Medicine And Health Sciences. A Machine Learning Approach To Understand Attrition Factors Over The Past Seven Years, Moza Sulaiman Al-Zaabi

Theses

This master’s thesis investigates student attrition within the College of Medicine at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) by applying the CRISP-DM methodology to analyse a dataset of 19 variables and around 2,000 records from Student Admission and Academic Performance sources. Although the dataset was relatively small, several machine learning models were developed to predict students at risk of dropping out, including Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Of these models, the ANN model, particularly when combined with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), achieved the highest performance with an accuracy …

A Predictive Correlational Study Of The Relationship Between Two-Year College Faculty Participation In Professional Development And Career Commitment, Faculty Leadership, And Professional Service Activities, Deborah Josey Burks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this predictive correlational non-experimental study was to examine the relationships between faculty participation in professional development, and career commitment, faculty leadership, and engagement in professional service activities. The predictor variable was faculty professional development and criterion variables were career commitment, faculty leadership, and engagement in professional service by faculty employed within two-year colleges in the southeastern United States. This study contained a convenience sample of 76 faculty employed at two-year colleges within a system of colleges. Data was gathered utilizing the combined self-reported Career Growth Opportunity Measure (Adams, 1999), the Teacher Leadership Inventory [TLI] (Angelle & DeHart, …

Societal Obstacles In Higher Education That Hinder Adulthood Development In Northern Myanmar: A Phenomenological Study, Sau Nam

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of college graduates who faced societal obstacles in higher education in Kachin State, Myanmar. The theory guiding this study was the theory of emerging adulthood in higher education, as it looks at how the psychological environment in which they live influences their psychological characteristics development process. The theory helped to explore the central research question: What are the lived experiences of college graduates who faced societal obstacles in higher education in Kachin State, Myanmar? The study collected data through individual interviews, focus groups, and journal prompts, and the …

Transgender And Gender-Queer People Belong In Jesuit Higher Education, Morgan Keating, Konstantin Platonov

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

This paper explores the intersection of Jesuit values and the experiences of transgender and gender-queer campus community members in Jesuit higher education institutions. Despite the adoption of inclusive policies, campus climates often lack the support of minorities, leading to discrimination and deterioration of their mental health. The core Jesuit values—cura personalis, magis, discernment and reflection, service rooted in justice and love, and solidarity and kinship—are examined as the principles that should drive more active inclusion and support. The paper also suggests practical steps to align institutional practices with these values better. By embracing these measures, …

Toward More Impactful Higher Education Advisory Boards: Foundational Elements For Success, Kyle Barnhart

Masters Projects

This project examines what makes for a successful advisory board within a higher education institution. Advisory boards play an important role in higher education, bringing industry insights, alumni experience, community connections, and outside expertise on a range of topics. A core challenge of advisory boards is a lack of consistency in their structure and operation which can result in these groups being less than effective or even perfunctory. This is a missed opportunity to engage volunteers, leverage outside expertise, and build important external connections, and develop long-term advocates. Poorly managed and ineffective boards can also be a drain on resources …

Mindfulness Matters: Addressing Anxiety And Navigating Toward Wellbeing Through Miea Mindfulness Practices, A Mixed-Methods Study Of Lgbtiq Graduate Writing Students, Kim Westerman

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness Matters: Addressing Anxiety and Navigating Toward Wellbeing Through MIEA Mindfulness Practices, a Mixed-Methods Study of LGBTIQ Graduate Writing Students

Anxiety has always been a part of the human experience, even before the phenomenon was conceptualized in the 17^th century and named by Freud in the 19th. And human beings have devised many strategies for addressing anxiety: reducing it, ignoring it, distracting oneself from it, despairing over it, medicating it, engaging with it, moving through it, co-existing with it. The current zeitgeist, more than four years into the COVID-19 global pandemic, situates anxiety as a central facet of …

Strategizing Education Amid Crisis: A Case Study On Transforming Higher Education During The Covid-19 Pandemic [Academia Journals Hidalgo], Michelle Lorette Llado-Wrzos, Cristo Leon Ph.D.

STEM for Success Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to higher education, disrupting traditional teaching methodologies and requiring institutions to adapt rapidly to ensure continuity of learning. This case study examines how a leading STEM-focused public research university navigated these challenges, leveraging strategic planning, technological innovation, and adaptive leadership to sustain its mission. The study highlights the institution’s transition to online learning, the implementation of blended modalities, and the operational adjustments safeguarding its community while maintaining educational excellence. Drawing on insights gained during the pandemic, the institution revised its strategic plan for 2025, incorporating goals for digital transformation, sustainability, and improved quality of …

Intentional Unlearning Practices In Postmassified University Systems: Reformation For The Metamodern Era, Mihaela A. Lynn

Journal of Global Education and Research

A crucial aspect of the learning cycle, unlearning has recently received more attention in academic discussions about the future of higher education. In an attempt to improve equality and equity of access to quality educational experiences in the wake of postmassification, the recent literature has highlighted the need to incorporate unlearning practices to transform university learning experiences. This literature review examines the role of the unlearning process in engaging diverse student populations in tertiary learning environments. First, traditional and contemporary conceptualizations of unlearning are explored. Next, specific issues related to unlearning in higher education are discussed before synthesizing current studies …

Reflective Practice Of Early Career Teachers: Identifying And Mitigating Major Instructional Challenges, Saheeh Shafi

Journal of Global Education and Research

This paper employs a qualitative descriptive research design to determine how early career teachers (ECTs) use reflective practices to identify and mitigate major instructional challenges in the context of Bangladeshi higher education. A questionnaire was given to 20 ECTs working in different universities to collect data on their reflective practices related to instructional challenges. Analysis of the responses of the ECTs to the questionnaire via thematic analysis revealed three major challenges: (a) inadequate logistic support, (b) diversity of students and pedagogical context, and (c) inadequate comprehension of the students. Solutions to these challenges include (a) three levels of collaboration, (b) …

Understanding The Experience Of Being Food Insecure At An Independent College Or University, Natalie Wagner

Dissertations

Many people struggle to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy life (United States Department of Agriculture, 2020). Research has shown that college students experience food insecurity at rates higher than the general population while also facing negative academic, mental, physical, and social consequences (Baker-Smith et al., 2020; Bruening et al., 2018; Dubick et al., 2016; Henry, 2017; Martinez et al., 2018). Although studies on food insecurity among higher education have increased in the past few years, much of the research has been quantitative in nature and has been conducted at community colleges and state-funded institutions (Baker-Smith et …

Application Of The Hattie And Timperley Power Of Feedback Model With Graduate Teacher Education Students, Judy R. Wilkerson

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Student feedback is a crucial part of learning and improvement. The Hattie and Timperly (2007) model have been identified in the literature as the most useful feedback model evolving out of the literature on feedback and formative assessment prompted by the seminal Black and Wiliam (1998) study. The model consists of three questions: Where am I going? (feed-up), How am I going/doing? (feedback), and Where am I going next? (feed-forward). The combination of these three questions establishes a process for preparing the student with an advance organizer (the goal or student learning outcome), an assessment of actual performance, and a …

Book Review Of Richard Joslyn And Bruce Stronach. The History Of Temple University Japan: An Experiment In International Education. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Micro-Level Internationalization From Empirical And Conceptual Constructs: Adding The Human Dimension, Omolabake Fakunle, Fiona Hunter

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Faculty Innovativeness In Higher Education: Exploring The Influence Of Demographic And Psychological Factors, Jared M. Pyles

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between innovativeness and various demographic and psychological factors among full-time faculty at a private higher education institution in the Midwest United States. The study focused on understanding how risk aversion, gender, age, years of experience, and leadership roles influence a faculty member's level of innovativeness and examined the interrelated effects of these variables. Employing a quantitative research design, data were collected through a self-administered online survey with 129 full-time faculty members, achieving a response rate of 49%.

The findings revealed no significant direct relationship between innovativeness and risk aversion. However, categorical age emerged as a …

Understanding The Present And Preparing For The Future In Collegiate Esports, Marc C. Dearmond

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

While esports continues to grow as a varsity sport across higher education campuses, new programs are being built focusing on esports as a field of study. However, more research is needed about how esports programs are being administered on college campuses and how these programs are being measured for success. This three-article dissertation focuses on esports at the collegiate and undergraduate levels. The first study is a literature review focused on topics of research available for reading assignments in an online program based on the esports ecosystem as defined by Anderson et al. (2018). It contains an examination of current …