Education Commons^™

Becoming: Adult Learners In Graduate Education And The Pursuit Of A Meaningful Life, Tara Shollenberger

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Adult learners in graduate education represent a population defined by deliberate, purposeful choice. Unlike traditional-age students, these individuals advance within higher education while managing careers, families, and complex life responsibilities. This conceptual paper explores the espoused and enacted vision for a meaningful life held by adult learners in graduate education, with particular attention to doctoral students in professional education programs. Evidence is drawn from national enrollment and attrition data, relevant scholarship, and nearly two decades of direct practitioner observation. The paper argues that adult graduate learners are animated by a vision of becoming: a generational, relational, and deeply purposeful understanding …

The Gender Gap: Exploring Superintendents’ Perceptions And Experiences In Iowa, Jillian Dotson, Matt Townsley

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Abstract

The gender gap in the superintendent role continues to plague the educational system across the nation. Female school teachers drastically outnumber female superintendents, which limits the number of women superintendents who are available to serve as mentors. Until women can access superintendent positions in an equitable manner, this gender imbalance will continue. The purpose of this study was to explore current Iowa women superintendents' perceptions and experiences with seeking and operating in the superintendency, and understand their perceptions on the strengths and weaknesses of the mentoring support available for new superintendents. The findings confirm that participants in this study …

Seeing The Line Move Up: Educator Perceptions Of Mastery Experiences As Drivers Of Student Engagement And Persistence In Rural Intervention Programs, Carter J. Baran

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study examined how educators in a rural secondary school district describe the influence of mastery experiences on student engagement and persistence within academic intervention programs. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 18 certified educators (six core content teachers, six elective teachers, and six administrators) and a subsequent focus group conducted in a single rural South Carolina school district, this qualitative analysis extends a larger dissertation study on teacher perceptions of dropout-prevention interventions. Using Bandura's (1986, 1997) social cognitive theory and Astin's (1984, 1999) theory of student involvement as a dual conceptual lens, findings indicate that educators consistently identified visible, incremental …

From Tasks To Transformation: How Coherently Sequenced Practicum Experiences Develop Collaborative Instructional Leaders, Daryl Ann Borel, Thomas Harvey

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This qualitative study examines principal preparation candidates' perceptions of a practicum designed to develop collaborative instructional leadership through coherently sequenced field-based tasks. The practicum required candidates to lead campus teams through needs assessment, strategy development, and implementation monitoring focused on instructional challenges affecting at-risk and economically disadvantaged students. Grounded in Personalized Educational Leadership Theory (PELT), the study analyzed archival written reflections from 150 randomly selected candidates enrolled in a large online principal preparation program. Using a basic interpretive qualitative approach, the analysis identified four themes: candidates' perceived growth in data-informed instructional leadership, structured collaboration as a leadership practice, leadership identity …

Leadership In Context: Examining School District Demographic And Socioeconomic Factors To Predict Superintendent Salary, Samuel F. Fancera, Lorena Valer, Ashley Mungiello

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study examines how district‑level demographic and socioeconomic factors predict superintendent base salaries in New Jersey through the lens of context‑responsive leadership theory. Using secondary data from 529 school districts, the analysis investigates whether student racial and ethnic composition and district socioeconomic status relate to salary outcomes. Correlation and multiple regression results show that all student demographic variables along with district socioeconomic status, significantly predict superintendent salary, with the proportion of White students accounting for the largest share of explained variance. Findings reveal persistent inequities. Superintendents serving high‑poverty, diverse districts tend to earn lower salaries despite facing more complex leadership …

Free Ebook! Research And Reflections On Southeast Asian American Education And Advancement, Wayne E. Wright

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Free eBook available:

• Purdue University Press (PDF and EPUB formats)
• Amazon (Kindle version)

Co-edited by our JSAAEA Editorial Team, this book is in commemoration of the 20^th Anniversary of the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement (JSAAEA) and the 50^th Anniversary of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States. A paperback version is also available.

This special collection celebrates the contributions of scholars whose works focus on Southeast Asian American (SEAA) issues and highlights empirical research, book reviews, and creative works from SEAA scholars and community leaders whose voices have been prominent in the journal …

Teacher Mentoring As A National Imperative: A Multi-Paper Dissertation, Ramiro Pesina

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

This multi-paper dissertation investigates teacher mentoring as a critical intervention in human resource development designed to address the complex challenges facing the teaching profession, including high attrition rates and the need for sustained professional support. The study is organized into three connected studies: an integrative literature review on technology enhanced mentoring, a longitudinal qualitative study that devises a comprehensive mentoring model covering cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, and a phenomenological case study in which a formally structured mentoring program in a North Texas school district is analyzed in terms of execution and outcome. Critically important findings indicate that well-crafted mentoring …

The Columbus Promise: Three-Year Pilot Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney

Reports

The Columbus Promise is a place-based, tuition-free college program designed to expand postsecondary access and economic mobility for graduates of Columbus City Schools. Launched with the high school class of 2022, the three-year pilot provides tuition support at Columbus State Community College (CSCC), a $500-per-semester stipend, and dedicated coaching and academic services. This evaluation, conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, examines outcomes for all three cohorts (2022, 2023, and 2024), using administrative data, a comparison group of Columbus City Schools graduates from 2017–2021, regression-adjusted estimates of academic outcomes, and a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis of overall college enrollment. Findings …

The Little Book Of Gifts: Great Ideas For Teaching, Eugene Korsunskiy, Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Emme Burgin, Jentry Campbell, Solomon G. G. Diamond, Kendall R. Farnham, Mattias W. Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Gallivan, Katherine R. Hixon, Michael Kokko, Wesley Marrero, Vicki V. May, Erin N. Mayfield, Colin R. Meyer, Emily H. Monroe, Nina Montgomery, Kofi M. Odame, Laura E. Ray, Peter J. Robbie, Rafe H. Steinhauer, Douglas W. Van Citters, Vikrant S. Vaze

Dartmouth Scholarship

We borrowed the “GIFTs” acronym from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), whose annual conference includes sessions in which educators share quick, actionable ideas for new and exciting teaching practices that they’ve developed.

In this collection, we present over thirty Great Ideas For Teaching—collected from faculty and staff at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College—that can be used in diverse labs and classrooms.

The specific theme of the GIFTs in this volume is: accessibility & inclusion. The ideas in this collection are all aimed at making our course content more understandable, our …

More Than Just Blocks: Supporting Development Through Block Play In Early Childhood, Stephanie Szanter, Carrie L. Ota

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

Block play is much more than a classroom center; it is a place where children explore ideas, solve problems, communicate, and work together in meaningful ways. This article examines how block play supports children’s social-emotional, cognitive, physical, and language development through hands-on experiences that feel natural and engaging. Using classroom examples and current research, the article highlights how block play changes over time, how teachers can thoughtfully support and extend children’s thinking, and how simple adjustments to materials and setup can deepen learning. Rather than requiring elaborate activities, strong block play environments grow from careful observation, responsiveness, and an understanding …

When Children Cook: Food Experiences As Inquiry, Identity, And Learning, Marian S. Castillo, Carrie L. Ota

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This article explores the transformative potential of integrating cooking experiences into early childhood classrooms, arguing that food preparation offers much more than a simple activity. By drawing on classroom narratives such as shared meal preparation and spontaneous scientific inquiry this piece illustrates how cooking serves as a catalyst for wonder, problem-solving, and collaboration. It highlights how food-based activities naturally bridge home and school environments, fostering a sense of belonging and cultural identity among young learners. Grounded in developmentally appropriate practice, this article examines the teacher’s role in facilitating these experiences, emphasizing the importance of responsive planning, observation, and valuing the …

More Than Storytime: Intentional Read-Alouds For Literacy Instruction And Formative Observation, Shelia Tate

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

Read-alouds have long been valued in early childhood classrooms for promoting engagement, enjoyment, and a love of reading. When intentionally planned, they can also reinforce foundational literacy skills and provide formative information about student understanding. This article examines how early childhood educators can move read-alouds beyond a familiar classroom routine by connecting them to specific literacy objectives and using student responses to guide subsequent instruction. The IPAQ process (Intentional Choice, Preplanning the Focus, Anticipating Misconceptions, and Questioning and Responses for Formative Observation) provides a practical framework for planning purposeful read-alouds. Classroom examples illustrate how teachers can use planned interactions and …

Diving Deeper Into Serve-And-Return Interactions: Joint Attention & Cognitive And Social Development In Infancy, Derrick Toups

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This article provides practical ways to support responsive and initiating joint attention in infancy which are fundamental to cognitive and social development.

Getting A Special Education: Parents, Lawyers, And The Politics Of Disability In Postwar Pennsylvania, Emma Gabriel

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper explores the relationship between white parent advocates in Pennsylvania and public interest lawyers, whose litigation efforts legitimized the construction of an implicitly white disabled class in the mid-twentieth century. This analysis sheds light on the ways in which school reform became a key element in the simultaneous construction and renegotiation of intellectual disability and race in the postwar era, and foregrounded the adoption of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975.

Aspek Ergonomi Dalam Virtual Tour Museum Nasional Pada Pembelajaran Mata Kuliah Ornamen Nusantara, Irving Gustav Salim, Gumilar Pratama, Irni Resmi Apriyanti

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

The development of educational technology has encouraged the use of interactive digital media as learning tools, including in art and design education. In their application, visual ergonomics should be considered to support user comfort and ensure clear information delivery. This study aims to examine visual ergonomic aspects, particularly the principles of clarity, legibility, readability, and visibility, in the virtual tour of the National Museum of Indonesia (Museum Gajah) used as a learning medium for the Nusantara Ornament course. The study employed a phenomenological approach involving 24 students enrolled in the Nusantara Ornament course in the Fine Arts Education Study …

Petualangan Ragam Hias Nusantara: Pengembangan Game Digital Berbasis Gimkit Dengan Pendekatan Digital Game-Based Learning, Venina Nabilla Nazwa, Iriaji Iriaji

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

Visual arts learning in Grade VIII at MTsN 1 Kota Malang has limited use of interactive digital media, indicating the need for a more interactive and exploratory learning medium. This study aimed to analyze learning needs, develop and evaluate the feasibility of a learning medium, and examine changes in students’ motivation and learning interest after its use. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the 4D model: Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate. The developed product, “Petualangan Ragam Hias Nusantara,” was created using Gimkit Creative Mode with a Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) approach and map-based exploration. Expert …

Sang M. Lee, Unl Business Management; Goal Programming, Mark Griep, Sang M. Lee

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Interviews

Dr. Sang Lee was awarded the ORCA in 1980. Sang was born in 1939 in South Korea and grew up in Seoul. He earned his bachelor’s in 1961 at Seoul National University. Next, he traveled over 7000 miles to the US to earn a master’s from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and then a somewhat shorter move to the University of Georgia in Athens, where he earned a doctorate in Business Administration and Management. From 1968 to 1976, he rose through the ranks at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg while making a splash for his “goal programming” ideas. In 1976, …

2026 Sc Teacher Exit Survey, Svetlana Dmitrieva, Brian Cartiff, Angela Starrett

Reports

Each year, SC TEACHER administers the SC Teacher Exit Survey to public PK–12 classroom teachers who are leaving teaching positions in their districts. The survey provides insight into departing teachers’ next steps, the factors that contributed to their decisions to leave, and the conditions that might encourage some educators to remain in or return to South Carolina public education.

This report summarizes results from the 2026 SC Teacher Exit Survey, focusing on teachers who left their positions at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. Findings are organized by exit type to distinguish different forms of teacher mobility, including teachers …

Pisa In Brief Australia 2025: Student Performance, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

PISA in Brief summarises the key findings from PISA 2025 for Australian students. It compares Australia’s performance with other participating countries and economies, examines trends over time, and highlights differences in achievement across Australian states and territories and key demographic groups. PISA uses 2 main measures to describe student achievement. Mean scores show overall performance, while proficiency levels (ranging from below Level 1 to Level 6) explain the types of knowledge and skills students can typically demonstrate. This report focuses on differences that are statistically significant (in other words, differences that are unlikely to have occurred by chance). The report …

Pisa 2025: A First Look At Student And School Characteristics For Australia, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This report presents a first overview of Australia’s PISA 2025 contextual results. It focuses on selected constructs related to 15-year-old students’ attitudes towards school and their experiences in the classroom and at school, including sense of belonging at school, disciplinary climate in science classes, perseverance, feeling safe at school, enjoyment of science, exposure to bullying, negative school climate, and time spent on digital devices by purpose. It also provides initial insights into equity in education in Australia from an international perspective, and Australian students’ self-reported effort. The report compares Australia’s results with those of other participating countries and economies, as …

Pisa 2025: Reporting Australia's Results. Volume I: Student Performance, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood, Jonas Bertling

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This Volume I report presents Australia’s PISA 2025 results at the international and national level, including results for key student groups. It examines recent trends since PISA 2022 and longer-term trends since reading (2000), mathematics (2003) and science (2006) were first assessed as the focal domains. The results in this report are based on a nationally representative sample of Australian 15-year-old students, stratified using variables of jurisdiction; school sector; geographic location; student sex composition; and a measure of socioeconomic background.

Average Earnings Of Undergraduate Certificate Graduates In The Mountain West, 2024, Devin Streuter, Kahlen Coss, Kevin Yang, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents data on the average earnings of undergraduate certificate program graduates in 2024 dollars compared to the average earnings of high school (HS) graduates in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The fact sheet reports information on the number of undergraduate certificate programs, number of graduates, the most popular certificate programs, and earnings premiums for each state. Published by Open Campus in collaboration with The Higher Education Analytics (HEA) Group, the fact sheet reports data originally published through the “Certificate Earnings Explorer."

Leadership To Strengthen Research Culture And Foster Responsible Conduct Of Research: A Case Study, Seán Lacey, Jean Ricken, Stephen Cassidy

Publications

Objective Research performing organizations (RPOs) are increasingly expected to strengthen research culture and support the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Institutional supports are central to advancing research culture across RPOs. To inform development and evaluation of these supports, surveys were conducted within an RPO.

Method Perceptions of research culture and RCR were examined using surveys conducted in 2022 and 2024. Between surveys, accessible training and supports on good research practices were developed and deployed.

Results Awareness of research impact, authorship, and collegial support remained high (p > 0.05), with significant improvements in access to resources and reporting pathways for inappropriate research …

Book Review: The History And Politics Of Star Wars: Death Stars And Democracy, Petra Hendrickson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Book Review: The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy

The Lessons I Never Took, Nadia Luong

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

“The Lessons I Never Took” is a lyric poem rooted in the author’s experience growing up as a first-generation Cambodian American child in an immigrant family. The poem examines how socioeconomic hardship and language brokering shape a child’s relationship to desire, responsibility, and unrealized possibility. While other children receive formal lessons that allow their interests and talents to be discovered, the speaker develops unrecognized interpretive skill by helping her parents navigate English-speaking institutions. Without assigning blame, the poem holds parental sacrifice and childhood loss together, revealing how survival can limit not only access to enrichment but also a child’s opportunity …

From Protection To Provision, Not Participation: A Bibliometric Analysis Of Children's Digital Rights Research And Its Implications For Media Literacy Education, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

Media literacy education is widely held to have moved from a protective to a participatory paradigm. This study asks whether the children's digital rights literature that informs it has made the same move. Records were retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus (search date 31 August 2026), screened, and deduplicated, yielding 1,012 publications from 1993 to 2026. A dictionary built on the protection–provision–participation framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was applied to 4,507 keywords. Protection accounted for 40.4% of classified keywords, provision for 44.4%, and participation for 15.1%. Protection exceeded participation by 2.4 to 3.1 throughout, …

Flipbook-Based Media To Prevent Academic Burnout Among Senior High School Students In Yogyakarta, Puan Maharani Fauza, Eva Imania Eliasa, Kun Widya Nurfiani

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Academic burnout is a pressing issue that negatively affects senior high school students, yet conventional counseling services often rely on monotonous, static media that fail to engage today's digital generation. To address this urgent gap, this research aimed to develop an interactive digital Flipbook as a preventive intervention. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) method using the ADDIE model, consisting of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation stages. Product validation was conducted by media experts and subject-matter experts, while the practicality test involved two Guidance and Counseling teachers. The effectiveness test was carried out through an experimental study …

Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences On Teaching Essay Writing To Grade 10 Learners In The Eastern Cape, Ncebazakhe Makhohlisa, Lundi Nomlala

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This paper explores pre-service teachers’ experiences in teaching essay writing to Grade 10 English First Additional Language learners. Despite the significance of essay writing for developing learners' writing skills in multilingual classrooms, writing essays remains a challenge for most English First Additional learners. The extant research has examined the challenges that learners face in essay writing. However, there is limited research examining pre-service teachers’ experiences in teaching essay writing during their teaching practice. This paper employed a qualitative research approach, and data were drawn from 30 pre-service teachers’ reflective journals based on their teaching practice experiences. Cognitive Process Theory was …

Bahasa, Budaya, Dan Kecerdasan Buatan: Tantangan Pengajar Bipa Di Era Ai, I Made Darma Sucipta, I Made Rai Jaya Widanta, I Made Sujanayasa

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought significant transformations to the teaching of Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing, BIPA). This empirical qualitative study aims to describe the challenges faced by BIPA teachers in integrating AI into language instruction and the strategies they employ to balance the use of technology with the preservation of local culture. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and the analysis of teaching-material documents involving three BIPA teachers at Bali State Polytechnic who were selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate …

20260905: Marshall Artists Series, 2020-2026, Artists Series

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of the Artists Series at Marshall University from 2020-2026. Items were received in 2026 and include notable materials from or about program brochures the Artist Series produced and a few event flyers about some of the shows. Please download the finding aid for a full list of contents.