Education Commons^™

Shaping Writers, Shaping Pedagogy: Elementary Teachers’ Writing Identities And Instructional Change Within Literacy Coaching Contexts, Elizabeth T. Besch

All Dissertations

Despite the central role of writing in literacy development, many elementary teachers report limited preparation in writing instruction and uncertainty in how they understood themselves as writers. Increasingly, literacy coaching has been positioned as a form of job-embedded professional learning that supports instructional change; however, less is known about how coaching contexts shape teachers’ identities as writers and how those identities relate to instructional practice.

This qualitative multiple-case study examined how elementary teachers’ writer identities were constructed and enacted within a literacy coaching context. The study addressed the following research questions: (1) How do literacy coaching contexts, as figured worlds, …

Student Motivation In Social Studies Classes At The Public Museum High School: A Dissertation, Benjamin Kruid

All Dissertations

Students tend to behave differently in different classroom settings. Many factors contribute to the change in behavior, including motivation. Research suggests a tendency for student motivation to decrease as students move from elementary to middle to high school. However, motivation in students is not uniform and is dependent on factors like the subject, and time of day, for example. This dissertation examines student motivation in social studies classes at a public high school in Michigan using Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) as a framework for understanding motivation, and student impulsiveness as understood through the lens of Delay Discounting (DD). This research …

August 2026 Bulldog Alumni & Friends News, Kari Jones, Garrett King

Bulldog Alumni & Friends News

July 27 - August 7 Online SWOSU Athletic Auction

August 7 SWOSU Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet

August 8 SWOSU Athletic Auction and Dinner

September 11 SWOSU Charitable Hunt

October 30-31 SWOSU Homecoming

November 5 SWOSU Near You: Elk City

November 13 Shoot For The Stars Sporting Clay Shoot

Broadening Participation In Computing: Retention Pathways For Supporting Underrepresented Students, Oluwafemi Osho

All Dissertations

The computing sector's rapid growth has intensified demand for computing professionals, yet undergraduate computer science (CS) programs continue to lose substantial numbers of students, often within the first two years, before they reach degree completion. Attrition is not evenly distributed: women and other underrepresented minority (URM) students remain less likely to persist in CS despite broader increases in enrollment. These persistent disparities suggest the need to understand not only how to broaden entry into computing but also how students' experiences within programs shape retention over time. In this dissertation, I address this critical challenge by focusing on identifying inclusive strategies …

A Correlational Study Exploring The Influence Of Organizational Climate On Job Satisfaction Of Non-Faculty Staff At Texas Community Colleges, Tamesha M. Hilliard-Daniels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As U.S. higher education institutions face increasing challenges related to employee morale and retention, understanding the drivers of workplace satisfaction is critical for institutional stability. This research investigates the relationships between organizational climate factors and job satisfaction among staff within Texas community colleges, applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene as the theoretical framework. Specifically, this study explores the influence of institutional communication, employee well-being, and organizational mission and pride on staff job satisfaction. Utilizing a quantitative correlational design, the study analyzed secondary data from ModernThink’s Higher Education Insight Survey©. The sample consisted of 2,265 higher education professionals collected …

Aligned But Disengaged: Self-Estrangement Weakens Citizenship Behavior In Higher Education, Andrew Krouse, Rob E. Carpenter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

Higher education depends on discretionary employee contributions that sustain coordination, service continuity, and institutional functioning. Yet contemporary governance and accountability pressures can reconfigure higher education work in ways that erode autonomy, line-of-sight, and intrinsic reward, elevating the risk of work alienation, weakening the discretionary behaviors institutions rely on. This study tests whether person–organization fit (POF) predicts organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and whether multidimensional work alienation mediates this relationship through powerlessness, meaninglessness, and self-estrangement. Using survey data from 325 employees across four U.S. higher education institutions, we applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with bias-corrected bootstrapping. Model comparisons were …

2026 August, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for August of 2026.

Brief Insights: Learning, Leading, And Growing Together: Highlights From A Multilingual Learner And Mathematics Focused Research, Practice, Policy Partnership, Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D., Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Kaivan Yuen, Ed.D., Miguel Valencia

Education and Policy Briefs

Building on a longstanding partnership, the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University and Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) expanded their Research, Practice, Policy Partnership (RPPP) to examine Spanish academic oral language development among TK–5 Dual Language Immersion students engaged in Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in mathematics. Teacher-researchers analyzed video samples of students explaining their mathematical reasoning using a rubric aligned with the California Spanish Language Development Standards.

Findings demonstrate meaningful growth in students’ Spanish academic oral language across the school year, particularly in their ability to support opinions and select language resources to communicate mathematical …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Leadership Development In A Graduate Medical Laboratory Science Program, Demetra Castillo

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Leadership development is increasingly recognized as an essential component of healthcare education, particularly as medical laboratory professionals assume expanded responsibilities involving collaboration, decision-making, systems thinking, and organizational leadership. Despite this need, limited research has explored how leadership develops within graduate medical laboratory science (MLS) programs. This qualitative case study examined leadership development through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). Two research questions explored how the program fostered leadership development through students’ professional biographies, leadership questionnaires, final reflection papers, and leadership credos and how leadership reflections demonstrated growth over time. Secondary data from five student cases were analyzed using deductive …

The Mediating Role Of Hope In The Relationship Between Everyday Discrimination And Depression Among College Students, Busra Vurkun

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research shows that marginalized populations experience disproportionately higher psychological distress (Budhwani et al., 2015; Bailey et al., 2019). Everyday discrimination, defined as chronic interpersonal mistreatment such as microaggressions and disrespect, is associated with greater depression and lower psychological well-being (Essed, 1991; Calabrese et al., 2015). Although the negative effects of discrimination are well established, less is known about protective factors that may reduce these outcomes. One such factor is hope, conceptualized by Snyder et al. (1991) as agency thinking and pathways thinking and linked to lower depression and greater resilience (Arnau et al., 2007; Banks et al., 2008). This study …

Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status And Incidence Of Specific Learning Disability, Nora Nevarez, Ralph Carlson, John Lowdermilk, Paul Sale

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

This quantitative study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), operationalized as child poverty levels, and the incidence of specific learning disability (SLD) using simple linear regression. Data were aggregated from publicly available Texas state databases across the 20 Texas Education Service Centers (ESCs). Analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between poverty rates and SLD placement rates ( 𝑅=.90, 𝑅²=.81, 𝑝< .01), indicating that poverty explained 81% of the variance in SLD identification. The null hypothesis was rejected. Findings suggest higher poverty levels are strongly associated with increased SLD placement rates. Implications for educational policy, resource allocation, trauma-informed practices, and future research are discussed. Limitations include reliance on state-specific aggregate data and a cross-sectional design.

Bridging The Gap: Educator Experiences Supporting Students During The Transition From Middle To High School, Sarah Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of middle and high school educators supporting students during the transition from middle to high school. This study contributes to the literature of middle to high school transition practices by focusing on districts with a single high school and two middle schools. Coherence Theory was the primary framework for understanding how transition systems function in practice, while Transition Theory and Constructivism provided a supporting lens to provide further context to ground the research in analysis of organizational, developmental, and cognitive alignment.

Data collection strategies included one-on-one semi-structured …

Do You Use Chatgpt? A Technology Acceptance And Segmentation Study Of Chatgpt Use Among Students At A South Texas University, Brian F. Waltman

Theses & Dissertations

Do You Use ChatGPT? A Technology Acceptance and Segmentation Study of ChatGPT Use Among Students at a South Texas University

August 2026

Brian F Waltman, Doctor of Philosophy in Education

The study investigates the integration of ChatGPT in academic settings, focusing on validating the TAME-ChatGPT instrument for a small private university in South Texas. This research aims to assess students' attitudes towards ChatGPT and identify the factors influencing its adoption and perceived usefulness. Previous studies have indicated ChatGPT's broad applicability across various sectors, including business, healthcare, and law, but its role in academia remains under-explored, particularly within the United States. …

Shifting The Paradigm Through Practice: A Co-Operative Inquiry Approach To Sustained Commitment In Nature-Based Education, Amanda Mcmickle

Theses & Dissertations

Nature-based learning has demonstrated positive outcomes for young children’s academic, social-emotional, and developmental growth; however, its implementation within school systems remains limited due to a lack of governance or organized oversight. This qualitative study examined how nature-based learning can be implemented with practical fidelity in Texas public schools while remaining aligned with state standards and school district policies. Grounded in Biophilia Theory, Attention Restoration Theory, and Experience Theory, the study explored educators’ perceptions as co-researchers into the practices and decision-making processes as they integrated nature-based learning into daily instruction.

Participants included experienced Texas public school educators teaching prekindergarten and kindergarten. …

Higher Education And Resilience: An Exploration Of Sexual Misconduct Survivors' Lived Experiences And The Impact On Their Educational Journey, Patricia Denise Williams

Theses & Dissertations

HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESILIENCE: AN EXPLORATION OF SEXUAL

MISCONDUCT SURVIVORS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES  AND

THE IMPACT ON THEIR EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY

Patricia Williams, PhD

University of the Incarnate Word, 2026

This study explored the lived experiences and resilience of victims/survivors of sexual misconduct while pursuing education at an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL). Students between the ages of 18 and 24 are more likely to be sexually victimized than be victims of robbery at IHLs (RAINN, n.d.). The impact of sexual misconduct can leave victims/survivors with long-term trauma, causing negative academic outcomes and a host of behavioral and emotional issues (Banyard et …

An Evaluation Of Peer Mentoring In A Pre-Veterinary Science Program Within A College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Amy Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring is a tool utilized to improve the retention of college students and can serve as an effort to increase their willingness to persist despite challenges. Establishing mentoring relationships amongst first-year students and more-experienced students can create a sense of belonging. Mentorship programs may be developed within a particular major or program. Within this study, an online survey was formed to analyze the perceptions of first-year pre-veterinary students in Fall 2024 and Fall 2025. A peer-mentorship program was implemented amongst pre-veterinary students in Fall 2025. First-year students who completed the survey in Fall 2024 were not mentored. Many of the …

The Rise Of Emergent Bilingual Students In Texas School Districts: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Outcomes, Resources, And Conditions, Ashley Ivy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined district-level changes associated with rapid growth in Emergent Bilingual (EB) enrollment across 53 Texas public school districts between the 2012-2013 and 2022-2023 academic years. Using a quantitative, nonexperimental, longitudinal descriptive-comparative design, secondary data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) were analyzed to assess changes in district demographics, staffing patterns, bilingual/ESL expenditures, academic achievement, graduation rates, and college readiness outcomes. Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to determine statistically significant mean differences across the 10-year period. Findings revealed significant increases in EB enrollment, Hispanic enrollment, and economically disadvantaged enrollment, indicating that participating districts served increasingly diverse student populations with …

From The Band Hall To The Classroom: A Qualitative Study On Curriculum Design In Successful Texas Bands To Support Student Success, Amy R. Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas band programs have captured national attention for student achievement. This qualitative study examined curricular elements shared among perennially successful Texas band programs to explore whether these practices could inform curriculum development in other academic settings to support student success in indicators such as student academic achievement, behavior, and attendance. The data collection phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with fine arts administrators, campus administrators, and band directors associated with school districts of multiple perennially successful band programs. Through thematic analysis, collaboration and observation emerged as themes that influenced curriculum development among the participants; a focus on student experience, written curriculum, …

Professional Learning Communities In Virtual K-12 Schools: Survey Evidence From Texas, Charles L. Tracy Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have been viewed as a tool for improving teacher practices and student outcomes in schools for more than thirty years. Much of the existing research on their effectiveness has focused on the traditional school setting. With the explosion of virtual K-12 schools, less is known about how PLCs function in the fully online environment and how teachers perceive their overall effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of teachers working in a full-time virtual school with regard to their participation in Professional Learning Communities. A review of the literature examined the importance …

The Tension Of Retention And Retirement: A Narrative Study Of Full-Time Nursing Faculty Within Five Years Of Retirement At Public, Four-Year Institutions In Texas, Shelley Hunt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry, qualitative study explored the retirement decision-making process of nursing faculty at public, four-year institutions who were within five years of retirement. Through purposive sampling, 11 participants across eight institutions consented to participate and were interviewed via Zoom. Due to the nursing faculty shortage, the researcher hypothesized that nursing faculty nearing retirement may be retiring not only as a natural progression of their career but also because of factors that lead other early and mid-career faculty members to leave academia. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged: Finding Meaning and Fulfillment in the Nurse Faculty Role, Institutional Factors Shaping …

The Stories Of College Faculty Navigating Student Trauma Disclosures: A Narrative Inquiry, Samantha Daluz

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to understand how faculty who navigate student trauma disclosures construct stories about themselves as educators and how those stories shape their understanding of teaching and learning. Although the literature has increasingly focused on trauma-informed approaches to teaching and learning, little research has explored how faculty navigate student trauma disclosures or how those experiences shape their understanding of teaching and learning. This study sought to better understand those experiences and provide institutional leaders with insight into how faculty experience student trauma disclosures within higher education. Narrative inquiry was employed using Mahayana Buddhism as the …

An Action Research Study Of Kindergarten Educators’ Literacy Assessment Practices In International Schools In Brazil, Giselle B. Casagrande

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

This action research study explored how Kindergarten educators assess foundational literacy skills, identify learning gaps, and use assessment data to inform instruction in two international schools in Brazil, where English is the primary language of instruction and most students are second-language learners. Using a qualitative design, data were collected from seven Kindergarten educators through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and assessment samples. Data were analyzed using descriptive summaries and thematic analysis to identify patterns across participants' responses. The findings revealed that educators rely on a combination of standardized assessments, teacher-created tools, and ongoing classroom observation to evaluate foundational literacy skills, particularly phonological …

Building Careers In The Age Of Ai, Laura Bulkeley

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation explores how career advisors can support students navigating a rapidly changing job market shaped by artificial intelligence. It examines how students can reframe traditional career paths around transferable skills, adaptability, human connection, and continuous learning while considering what employers increasingly value in candidates. The presentation discusses the importance of developing high-agency professionals who can learn new technologies, communicate and collaborate effectively, and apply human reasoning alongside AI. It also provides a practical application of generative AI in the job search process, including customizing resumes, preparing for interviews, and receiving feedback on writing while maintaining ownership of one's experiences, …

Using Ai Strategically For Internship & Job Search: Using Ai To Think Better, Not Just Faster, Hoang Bao Han Tran

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation examines how students can use artificial intelligence strategically throughout the internship and job search process while maintaining critical thinking and human judgment. It explores the shift from traditional job-search platforms toward AI-assisted career research, including using personal experience, career goals, leadership activities, and individual context to evaluate potential opportunities. The presentation demonstrates how AI can support students in analyzing job descriptions, identifying relevant skills and qualifications, researching employers, and preparing for interviews. It also distinguishes the role of AI from that of career advisors, emphasizing that AI can help collect and process information while career advisors help students …

Ethical Use Of Ai In Education: Ai-Driven Learning: Good Or Bad?, Moumita Saha

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation examines the ethical use of artificial intelligence in education and the opportunities and challenges associated with AI-driven learning. It explores the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, concerns surrounding excessive reliance on generative AI, and issues including privacy, algorithmic bias, misuse of AI, job displacement, transparency, plagiarism, intellectual property, equitable access, and academic integrity. The presentation also considers how AI may affect critical thinking, learning processes, assessment, and student career readiness while highlighting research on the potential of AI to support personalized learning and education. Through case examples, research findings, discussion, and a hands-on group activity comparing work completed …

Ai For Leaders: Co-Design Your Career Workshops, Rami Huu Nguyen

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation explores the role of career identity and leadership development in helping students navigate an increasingly AI-driven professional landscape. It introduces a framework for understanding career identity through interests, skills, motivation, experiences, and professional roles, while examining the importance of maintaining individual identity when using artificial intelligence tools. The presentation emphasizes role-based career identity as a strategy for helping students establish direction, develop leadership skills, and remain competitive in the job market. Through an interactive co-design activity, career advisors work in teams to develop career workshops or mini-projects using search engines and AI tools, considering student roles, instructional processes, …

Spring Ai 2026 Workshop And Speaker Series Report, Gregory Blike, Hannah (Nyingi) Brown, Dora (Dawn) Nguyen, Rami Huu Nguyen, Ajanee Igharo, Frayni Calderon, Moumita Saha, Chengjie Zheng

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

The AI Workshop and Speaker Series was organized by the Student Advisory Council of the Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston with the guidance of Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Wei Ding to create a practical and student-centered AI learning space. The Spring 2026 series included workshops on LinkedIn Optimization, Data Mining, GitHub, Prompt Engineering, Machine Learning of Structured Data, and Applied LLMs with Responsible AI Use in Research, while the broader speaker series introduced students to AI career development, generative AI and LLMs for cybersecurity, transportation security, political sciences, and AI in biomedicine. …

Responsible & Ethical Ai Use: From Principles To Practice, Ila Lama

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation explores responsible and ethical artificial intelligence through a practical framework centered on five core principles: fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, and safety. It examines how ethical challenges surrounding AI are emerging across educational, organizational, creative, and societal contexts, including concerns related to bias, privacy, academic integrity, AI-generated content, and responsible decision-making. The presentation also introduces the Trust Cycle as a practical approach for moving from awareness and reflection to safe experimentation, feedback, and transformation, encouraging participants to critically evaluate AI use while maintaining human judgment, accountability, and trust.

Ai-Powered Personal Branding: A Coaching Toolkit For Career Advisors, Ajanee Igharo

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation explores how career advisors can use artificial intelligence to help students develop authentic, evidence-based personal brands. It introduces a coaching approach that helps students identify patterns across their experiences, strengths, interests, and career direction and translate those insights into credible professional narratives. The presentation demonstrates how AI can support this process by organizing information, identifying themes, generating alternative phrasing, and adapting communication for different audiences while emphasizing that students must retain ownership of their experiences, evidence, and authentic voice. Through hands-on activities and an advisor-guided workflow of discovering, drafting, challenging, verifying, and personalizing, participants practice using AI to …

Exploring Literacy Preparedness And Academic Experiences Of First-Year Community College Students, Alexandra Ranieri

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges enroll students with diverse levels of academic preparation, yet placement into college-level coursework often relies heavily on high school grade point average (GPA), which may not fully reflect students' literacy preparedness. Although research has linked literacy proficiency to academic success, little is known about how first-year community college students experience literacy preparedness during the transition to college. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the literacy preparedness of first-year community college students and explore how their reading abilities aligned with their early academic experiences. Guided by the Reading Systems Framework (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014), the …