Education Commons^™

Does Taking Cte Courses Affect High School Graduation Rates?, Jimmy Artrip

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the impact of Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses on high school graduation rates. As educational institutions look for ways to increase graduation rates and student engagement, CTE has emerged as a viable strategy. CTE aims to equip students with practical skills and post-secondary career and technical education while improving attitudes toward the educational environment. This study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of graduation rates from the school district with qualitative data gained through interviews with graduating students. Results indicate a statistically significant increase in graduation rates and improved outlooks and attitudes among students enrolled …

Stakeholder Engagement: Challenges, Metrics, And Tactical Solutions In Higher Education Strategic Planning, Stephanie Miller Gillen

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Effective stakeholder engagement is critical in higher education strategic planning, particularly as institutions face challenges such as changing demographics, technological advances, and evolving student expectations. This study explores the complexities of engaging diverse stakeholders, including students, faculty, community members, and governance, in the strategic planning process. Using a qualitative approach, the research examines how stakeholder engagement practices contribute to the development of strategic plans. The study emphasizes the importance of moving beyond superficial engagement to foster genuine collaboration and accountability, ultimately enhancing higher education institutions' adaptability. The research provides valuable insights for institutions aiming to enhance the efficacy of the …

University Student Worker Productivity: A Qualitative Analysis, Amanda S. Mansfield

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Student worker productivity is an important aspect of higher education, since many functional units rely on student employees to operate. Student workers communicate with all stakeholders of universities, including incoming and current students and their families, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members. Universities facing issues related to budgeting, enrollment, retention, and employability of their graduates can combat those issues by strengthening the largest labor pool on campus, student workers. The study explored what it means to be a productive university student worker within the framework of Social Exchange Theory and Grounded Theory. The study sought to provide recommendations to universities …

Teachers’ Reactions To The Bans And Biblioclasm Of Mexico’S National Free Textbooks In 2023: A Descriptive Qualitative Study, Eric Silberberg, Armida Liliana Patrón Reyes, Pedro Chagoyán García, Eric Manuel Benjamín Sánchez Barragán

Publications and Research

The rollout of Mexico’s new national free textbooks (LTG) at the outset of the 2023-2024 school year sparked a political crisis. Several states sued to prohibit their distribution and segments of civil society protested that they were designed to “indoctrinate” children in leftist ideology and sexual and gender diversity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the bans and controversy on the classrooms of elementary, middle, and telesecundaria teachers. An ethnographic methodology was employed with semi-structured interviews and field notes collected at three schools each in Guanajuato and Puebla. Findings reveal that physical resources are incredibly important to teachers, …

Survivor-Shaped Specters And Gaps, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

...survivors are disappearing from academia. Our schools, our syllabi, our classrooms, our bibliographies, our campuses, our research labs, our thesis committees, our libraries, our conference panels, our departments, our programs, and our monographs are riddled through and through with survivor-shaped gaps. Each gap is a place in academia where someone has gone missing due to bullying, harassment, retaliation, predation, sexual assault, mobbing, and/or other abuses of power. Some of these gaps are shaped like allies who have left academia due to moral injury. Not every gap, moreover, is shaped like a survivor. Not every victim survives.

Exploring Simulations In Mathematics Teacher Education, Madelyn W. Colonnese, Bima Sapkota, Carrie Lee, Liza Bondurant, Gregory Benoit, Grace Pai, Heather Howell, Erin Barno

Publications and Research

This article originally appeared in Connections, available at https://www.amte.net/connections/2024/12/exploring-simulations-mathematics-teacher-education

Rhizomic Communication Practices Bridging International Students And The Host Society And Beyond, Suvi Jokila, Charles Mathies

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted international student communities while reflecting wider societal inequalities. This study in the Finnish context examined international students’ experiences of the published national crisis communication and media usage during the first year of the pandemic. Using the national COVID-19 crisis communication practices as an example, we examined what kinds of strategies the international students deployed to access information in this non-English-speaking country and how they perceived the information communicated. Theoretically, we based the analysis on the theories of crisis communication and information inequality, which identify communication practices, such as language choice, that …

International Master's Degree Students' Experiences Of Support At A Finnish University, Anduena Ballo, Sotiria Varis, Charles Mathies, Kalypso Filippou

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This phenomenographic study explores international master’s degree students’ ways of experiencing support in Finnish higher education. The study draws on Schlossberg’s Transition Model and the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Model as a conceptual framework. The phenomenographic analysis of 17 interviews with international master’s degree students identified four ways of experiencing support as: (a) study system adjustment, (b) learning enhancement, (c) personal growth, and (d) autonomy development. The findings identified participants’ experiencing support in relationships, use of information, communication, services, the flexibility of studies, learning and study environments. The presence of two indicators, Humanizing Educational Environments and Availability of Holistic Support …

That Garden Of Hope, Bhavika Sicka

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The poem explores themes of freedom of speech, the power of words, and the pursuit of knowledge.

How Communities Of Practice Can Mitigate School Leader Burnout, Jason E. Saltmarsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This qualitative study expands our knowledge about school leader communities of practice (CoP) by examining the role they play in mitigating symptoms of burnout. Drawing primarily on in-depth interviews with school leaders in an urban California school district, this analysis applies Leiter and Maslach’s Structured Approach to Organizational Predictors of Job Burnout as a lens to understand school leaders’ experiences in a CoP focused on instructional leadership. Findings reveal dimensions of engagement known to reduce aspects of burnout, namely social closeness, a range of supports, and the perception of doing meaningful work that aligns with one’s values. This study extends …

Educating Future Leaders In Fraternities: Outcomes From Participation In A National Fraternity Emerging Leaders Program, Meghan Grace, Pietro A. Sasso, Kim E. Bullington, Dawn Wiese, Kathleen Stedman, Xinyue "Coco" Liu, Anthony M. Graziani

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Campus engagement opportunities such as leadership development have potential for students to strengthen their personal skills. As such, fraternities and sororities can play an influential role in strengthening students’ leadership skills. The present study examines the efficacy of a fraternity emerging leaders program, which is an educational opportunity focused on the development of new leaders. Data were collected from participants at three time intervals. Findings suggest students develop across several leadership domains, creating a stronger appreciation of their organizational values and fraternity ritual compared to non-participants. Recommendations for practice are included to address the transfer problem of leadership application and …

Exploring The Potential Of Utilizing Esports In The Development Of Workforce Communication And Collaboration Skills, Anthony Gray, James Bartlett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study explores the potential of esports in workforce development, specifically for enhancing the communication and collaboration skills of Generation Z. As Generation Z enters the job market, a gap in necessary communication and collaboration skills has become evident. Esports, previously studied for its social skill development benefits (Nielson & Hanghoj, 2019), offers a unique platform for skill enhancement. Adopting a social constructivist framework (Shabani et al., 2010), this research investigates how esports participation can bridge this skill gap, crucial for career retention and progression. Through a mixed-method approach involving surveys and player evaluations, the study aims to assess skill …

Unwritten Ground Rules Of School Choice: Excavating Capital As A Regulator Of Access To Educational Goods, Jason E. Saltmarsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

District leaders in school choice contexts tend to overlook the many hidden costs of selecting schools in terms of mobility, time, liquidity, and labor. Meanwhile, a body of literature on school choice policies and cultural, social, and political capital shows that middle-class parents use the resources they possess to get the school access they want. In this study, I critically examine the complex interplay between school choice policies and forms of capital. This analysis extends our empirical understanding of the political dimensions of families’ school choices—the way parent resources, relationships, and strategies determine “who gets what, when, and how” (Laswell, …

The Classification Paradox: Historically Black Colleges' And Universities' Complex Relationship With Inequitable Experiences With The Carnegie Classification System, Felecia Commodore

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Higher education in the United States boasts of diverse institutional offerings to students. From community colleges to well-resourced liberal arts institutions, this diverse array of institutions and types has created a system commonly viewed as having a variety of access points for those seeking higher learning. Higher education stakeholders can argue that this diversity is a strong suit of American higher education, but an argument can also be made that this same institutional diversity laid the groundwork for systemic racism and inequities within the higher education system.

These inequities exist through various intersecting systems and practices, such as the …

For A Lost Drachma: Contesting Hindutva Subjectivation In India’S Universities, Bhavika Sicka

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The aim of this essay is to apply Michel Foucault’s ideas on power and the practice of freedom to the context of India’s increasingly neoliberalized higher education landscape. The essay revisits Foucault’s notion of subjectivation to analyze the cultural politics of the Hindu Right, which, through organized violence and self-disciplinary mechanisms, has attempted to masculinize, privatize, saffronize, and brahmanicize the nation-state (and the public university), erase the othered body from the nation (and campus spaces), and shape how individuals understand themselves, their identities, and their modes of being in relation to savarna-capitalist power and knowledge. This essay will also suggest …

Social Media Sanctuaries: A Discourse Analysis Of Indian International Students' Agency And Liminality During The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, Bhavika Sicka, Nadiya Ungo, Dennis Gregory

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study used a social media discourse analysis approach to illuminate the narratives of Indian international students in Ukraine who experienced displacement and upheaval because of the Russo-Ukrainian war. We used agency and liminality as analytic lenses to highlight how this uniquely situated population used Facebook to navigate conflict, voice their demands, support each other, challenge hegemonic narratives, re/construct their diasporic identities, and re-orient their futures. Findings indicate that Indian international students in Ukraine displayed insurmountable courage and resilience during the war, enacting agency from the margins to amplify their voices and actuate desired futures. Furthermore, South Asian students in …

Centering Equity Within Principal Preparation And Development: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Meagan S. Richard, Shelby Cosner

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Throughout the globe, there is growing attention being paid to issues of equity and efforts to produce more equitable student learning outcomes in schools, and much of the scholarship internationally has begun to center school leaders as key drivers of more equitable conditions. Indeed, in the United States, persistent inequities in education have highlighted the need for K-12 principals who can effectively support diverse students. Effective leader preparation and development, particularly with a focus on equity, is crucial, as it equips school leaders with the knowledge and skills to create inclusive and equitable learning environments. U.S.-based research highlights that high-quality, …

Reclaiming & Reasserting Third World Womanhoods In U.S. Higher Education, Bhavika Sicka

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study combines narrative inquiry with Third World feminism to bring a nuanced and scopic perspective of Third World women student experiences in US higher education. Specifically, it utilises Talpade Mohanty's concept of Third World womanhood to visibilise the experiences of five Third World international female students. Understanding womanhood as transnationally fluid and contextual, I investigate how women international students from the Third World perceive themselves to be misrepresented or homogenised in Western higher education. I also examine how gender and foreignness act as dynamic, interrelated categories in doubly‐othering this population. The purpose is to identify how Third World women …

Jufon Vaikutus Yliopistoissa Työskentelevien Tutkijoiden Julkaisukanavia Koskeviin Päätöksiin, Melina Aarnikoivu, Charles Mathies, Nelli Piattoeva

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Yliopistojen rahoitusmallissa tärkeää roolia näyttelevä Julkaisufoorumi (JUFO) on virallisesti tarkoitettu laajempien julkaisumäärien tarkasteluun. On kuitenkin viitteitä siitä, että JUFOa käytetään laajasti myös yksittäisten tutkijoiden arviointiin. Tässä monimenetelmätutkimuksessa tarkastelemme sitä, miten JUFO-tasot vaikuttavat yksilöiden julkaisukanavia koskeviin päätöksiin, sekä sitä, miten tutkijat kokevat JUFOn roolin omassa työssään sekä tiedejulkaisemisessa laajemmin. Aineistonamme on keväällä 2023 toteutettu verkkokysely (N = 276), johon vastasi eri uravaiheiden ja alojen tutkijoita ympäri Suomea. Analysoimme vastaukset sekä määrällisiä (T- ja ANOVA-testit) sekä laadullisia (induktiivinen sisällönanalyysi) menetelmiä käyttäen. Tulosten perusteella JUFO-tasot vaikuttavat merkittävästi tutkijoiden enemmistön (54,9 %) päätöksiin siitä, millä perusteella julkaisukanava valitaan. Tasoilla oli suurempi merkitys tekniikan ja …

Global South Sisterhood In Virtual Exchange: A Critical Autoethnography, Bhavika Sicka, Arzu Atajanova

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

We are two women international students from the Global South, situated in Turkey and the U.S. respectively. In this article, we utilized collaborative autoethnography to critically reflect on our intellectual, emotional, linguistic, and cultural growth during a virtual exchange program that we participated in during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this co-exploration, we analyzed our experiences and reflections as participants in a COIL program to consider, more broadly, the evolution and trajectory of virtual mobility in an uneven higher education landscape. Our virtual exchange emerged as a digital and transnational third space, unbounded by hegemonic epistemic, linguistic, or geographical borders. We …

[Review Of The Book Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere, By T. Neeley]., Taylor Rodriguez

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

A consistent takeaway from research conducted on effective learning and working environments is that communication is key. In remote work and learning environments, communication comes from many different platforms, can be asynchronous and synchronous, and requires specific techniques, trust, and technology to be effective. Every salient point from the Remote work revolution: Succeeding from anywhere (Neeley, 2021), comes down to one central concept: communication. Technology and engineering educators will find the foundational concepts of this book pivotal to help guide remote education, especially in laboratory settings; potentially increasing the reach of their programs.

Relationship Between Technology Student Association Participation And Soft Skills Development, Lauren Lapinski, Mickey Kosloski, Philip Reed

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between student participation in Technology Student Association activities and soft skills development. This study specifically sought information on relationships between soft skills development and (a) time spent on Technology Student Association activities, (b) competitive event success, (c) assumption of leadership roles, and (d) gender. Data were provided by Pennsylvania Technology Student Association and consisted of survey responses from middle and high school students who are active Pennsylvania Technology Student Association members (n = 229). In addition to descriptive data, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the …

Navigating Virtual Halls: Stories Of Online Transfer, Working Adult Learners' Journeys With Student Services, Lashica Davis Waters, Michelle Bartlett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This qualitative narrative inquiry study explores lived experiences of seven working adult part-time online students, mostly community college transfers, in a Research 1 institution's online degree-completion program. Using in-depth interviews, four key themes are identified: access, engagement, inclusion, and university pride in students' interactions with student services. Access covers service availability, engagement the interaction quality, inclusion the feeling of being valued, and university pride the over-all perception of their educational journey. Engagement further divides into positive connections and negative disconnections. Findings suggest positive experiences with student services, recommending enhanced service provisions for similar students to foster accessibility, engagement, inclusivity, and …

A Point Of Singularity For Technology And Engineering Education, Philip A. Reed

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] I attended graduate school at Virginia Tech in the late 1990's and some of my fondest memories are from the side conversations with the faculty. The faculty at that time consisted of my mentor and program leader, Jim LaPorte, and other leaders in the field: Allen Bame, Sharon Brusic, Tom Jeffries, and Mark Sanders. Bill Dugger had recently retired from the university but maintained an office in Blacksburg to work full time on the Technology for All Americans Project (TfAAP, ITEEA, 2024) and he was very gracious about hosting students at the TfAAP office …

Strengthening Postsecondary Career And Technical Education Researchers Through Research Methods Webinars, Michelle Bartlett, James E. Bartlett Ii, J. Jordan Dolfi

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The resurgence of interest in career and technical education (CTE) has driven demand for skilled researchers to examine policies and practices that prepare individuals for the workforce. This study disseminates the perspectives of graduate and post-doctoral CTE research fellows on the quality and impact of research methods webinars they attended during their fellowship. The webinars aimed to enhance research skills and professional development. The study used mixed methods to analyze fellows' feedback, revealing themes such as supplementation to doctoral coursework, networking with CTE scholars, acquiring new knowledge, peer engagement, and the essential role of webinars in the fellowship. After each …

Enhancing Community College Leadership Development Through Ai: Enriching The Andragogical Approach, James Bartlett, Michelle Bartlett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This proposal is for a work-in-progress that proposes a study to explore the innovative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, in advancing the development of training for leadership skills within community college settings. It aims to investigate how AI can be leveraged to provide a personalized and effective learning experience, aligning with the principles of andragogy to cater to adult learners in leadership roles. The study, currently in the data collection phase, anticipates revealing significant insights into the effectiveness of AI in professional development. It seeks to highlight the innovative aspects of AI integration in educational leadership, focusing on …

Networked To Work?: An Analysis Of A Community College Workforce Development Program, Cynthia Finley, Kim E. Bullington, Mitchell Williams, David Ayers

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Barriers to education and training can have a generational impact on socioeconomic status and economic development. Post-traditional students have been shown to experience a variety of barriers to education and family sustaining employment. Social capital has been shown to help alleviate some of the barriers for students resulting in stronger economic outcomes, such job retention, and higher wages.

The purpose of this case study was to determine if the Network2Work model at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) can affect outcomes for students from low socio-economic backgrounds by comparing Network2Work outcomes to non-Network2Work noncredit industry training outcomes. The research compared outcome …

Ethically Informed Design, Brett Cook-Snell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This design case presents my experiences, successes, and challenges, in the design and delivery of a six-week special topics course on culturally inclusive instructional design. The course was delivered synchronously with a diverse group of 15 individuals enrolled in the instructional design and technology degree program. The focus of the course was uncovering implicit and explicit biases in design practices. Topics addressed included the systemic isms of society, such as racism, ableism, genderism, and many more. Relevant to this special issue, ethical design practices are viewed in the light of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) standards and …

Selvitys Valtakunnallisesta Apurahajärjestelmästä Ja Valmistumisen Jälkeisistä Kannustimista, Anna Idström, Eetu Isotalo, Tuomas Hiilamo, Hannu Karhunen, Charles Mathies, Jusso Villanen

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Tämä selvitys tarkastelee vaihtoehtoja valtakunnallisen apurahajärjestelmän toteuttamiseksi, ja ehdottaa keinoja, joilla julkinen valta voisi kannustaa kansainvälisiä opiskelijoita jäämään Suomeen valmistumisensa jälkeen. Selvityksen taustalla on hallitusohjelman kirjaukset näiden selvittämisestä ja hallituksen esitys, joka muuttaa EU- ja ETA-maiden ulkopuolisten opiskelijoiden lukuvuosimaksut kustannukset kattaviksi syksyllä 2026.

Suomen nykyiset apurahajärjestelmät ovat korkeakoulukohtaisia ja vaikeaselkoisia ulkomaalaisen opiskelijan näkökulmasta. Esitämme, että apurahoja koskevien tietojen tulisi olla nähtävissä sähköisesti ja ajantasaisesti yhdestä paikasta koulutusohjelmasta riippumatta. Tieto mahdollisesta apurahasta tulisi näkyviin opiskelijalle opiskelijavalinnan pisteytyksen rinnalle jokaista hakukohdetta koskien. Ehdotettu malli ei ota kantaa apurahan määrään tai muihin ehtoihin, vaan säilyttää autonomian korkeakouluilla.

On epätodennäköistä, että kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden Suomeen …

National Science Foundation- Experiential Learning For Emergent And Novel Technologies (Exlent): A Response To Emtech Workforce Shortages, C. Tomovic, M. Tomovic, M. Yang, S. Bawab

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This paper presents how critical workforce shortages in the emerging STEM fields of technology (EmTech), i.e., advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, microelectronics, alternative energy, etc., are impacting the workforce in the United States. The demands for EmTech graduates have become so great that many employers have changed their hiring criteria; over 60% of today’s high-need EmTech employers no longer require new hires to have an earned bachelor’s degree. Instead, they are asking applicants to demonstrate that they can execute professional competencies or provide validated certificates as evidence of their expertise.

In an attempt to alleviate this …