Empowering Pre-Service Ecse Teachers Through Ai Simulation: Strengthening Family-Centered Iep Facilitation, Jody L. Shong

Essays in Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping instructional practice across educational contexts, yet its role in preparing early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers for complex relational work remains underexplored. Facilitating Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings requires educators to integrate legal knowledge, developmental data, interdisciplinary collaboration, and family priorities within emotionally nuanced conversations. Many pre-service teachers enter the profession without structured opportunities to rehearse these responsibilities.

This article argues that AI-supported simulation represents a practical and equity-oriented approach to strengthening teacher preparation. Grounded in family–professional partnership theory, anti-bias education, and practice-based pedagogy, this manuscript examines how simulation can support relational competence while …

Exploring Pathways To Persistence And Self-Efficacy Among Historically Underrepresented Community College Students: A Mixed Methods Action Research Study, Sharmy Rene Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Research indicates that postsecondary institutions have struggled to retain historically underrepresented college students. These students continue to experience lower levels of persistence and college self-efficacy compared to their peers (Monjaras-Gaytan & Sánchez, 2023).

This dissertation is a mixed methods action research study that identified the academic challenges historically underrepresented college students face. This study focused on diagnosing the problem, engaging in multiple Reconnaissance phases, and using those findings to plan a contextually responsive intervention.

Findings indicate that historically underrepresented college students may benefit from enhanced academic support, stronger advising relationships, and greater opportunities to build peer connections. The findings of …

An Analysis Of Factors At A Private Liberal Arts College That Affect Student-Athlete Sense Of Belonging, Tamija Shrell Tucker

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the factors affecting student-athletes sense of belonging at a private liberal arts college using Strayhorn’s Sense of Belonging Framework. The research used a mixed method approach and combined quantitative survey data from 112 undergraduate students with qualitative interviews from seven faculty members to analyze variations in academic readiness, institutional support and a sense of belonging. Despite that fact that non-athletes reported being significantly more academically prepared, quantitative data indicated that there was no statically significant difference in the overall sense of belonging between student-athletes and non-athletes. There was also a negative correlation between a sense of belonging …

Bridging The Gap: Strategic Leadership For Student-Centered Advising And Retention At A Community College, Dina Abdul Rahman, Wenjun Chi, Katelynn Jarrells, Janet Ping

Doctor of Education Capstones

Community colleges serve as the most accessible gateway to higher education for millions of Americans, yet persistent dropout rates continue to undermine both student opportunity and institutional mission, particularly for first-generation students, students of color, adult learners, working students, and those experiencing financial precarity. This dissertation in practice examined high dropout rates at Delaware County Community College (DCCC), a multi-campus institution serving diverse communities across Delaware and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania. Guided by improvement science and grounded in critical pragmatism, Team RISE partnered with DCCC's Student Affairs division to investigate the systemic roots of student attrition and retention to develop …

The Teacher Shortage Crisis: How Workplace Relationships Influence Retention, Attrition, And The Education Labor Market, Jeremy Brooks

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study took a closer look at how high school teachers perceive the ongoing teacher shortage, with particular attention to how workplace conditions and the broader school climate impact whether they choose to stay in the profession. Special focus was given to teachers in their first five years, a group especially vulnerable to early attrition. As the conversation around teacher turnover grows louder, this research seeks to better understand what’s driving teachers’ decisions from their own perspectives, not just policy data or administrative assumptions.

The study used a basic qualitative research design, relying on one-on-one, in-depth interviews to gather insights …

Exploring Culturally Responsive Faculty Practices That Support Student Success In Community College Classrooms, Mary Catherine Flynn

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the culturally responsive teaching practices used by six community college faculty and instructors in their in-person courses. Faculty and instructors taught courses included in certificate and degree programs related to early childhood education, human services, and criminal justice at one midwestern community college. Specific content areas included sociology, political science, and child development. Data collection for this study included comprehensive interviews with each instructor, an analysis of documents including syllabi, student assignments, and assessments, and multiple classroom observations. This study was anchored in a theoretical framework based on the constructs of culturally responsive teaching practices. Each …

Measuring Academic Momentum: A Quantitative Study Of Supplemental Instruction As A Community College Student Support Strategy, Cornelia Slater

Dissertations of Practice

ABSTRACT

MEASURING ACADEMIC MOMENTUM: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION AS A COMMUNITY COLLEGE

STUDENT SUPPORT STRATEGY

Cornelia Vanessa Slater, Ed.D.

Department of Counseling and Higher Education

Northern Illinois University, 2026

Quortne R. Hutchings, Director

Community colleges serve as critical access points to higher education for diverse populations of students where completion rates are an ongoing challenge. Supplemental Instruction have been used as an academic intervention to improve success largely in four-year institutions. This quantitative study, guided by Xueli Wang’s momentum theory analyzed two research questions: (1) how supplemental instruction (SI) participation is associated with student academic success, course retention …

Autonomy Without Alignment: Professional Development And The Fragmented Ai Landscape In Higher Education, Kelly D. Muller

Essays in Education

Higher education’s strong commitment to autonomy and academic freedom has produced a fragmented and ethically inconsistent approach to artificial intelligence (AI) professional development. As AI reshapes teaching, assessment, authorship, and academic integrity, faculty responses range from prohibition to enthusiastic adoption, often without shared institutional guidance. Current professional development efforts are largely optional, tool-focused, and reactive, leaving instructors to construct individual ethical frameworks while students encounter inconsistent expectations across courses. This variability raises concerns about equity, accountability, and institutional risk. Drawing on scholarship related to academic freedom, AI governance, and diffusion of innovation, the article proposes a three-layer model that reframes …

The Un-Bridged Pipeline: Leading And Preparing Women Of Color To Senior-Level Higher Education Administration, Jacqueline D. Slater

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite increased educational attainment among Black women, representation in senior‑level leadership positions within higher education remains limited. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Black women who serve or have served in senior‑level academic administrative roles and explores how those experiences inform guidance, preparation, and decision‑making for future Black women leaders. The study focuses on practical barriers, workplace realities, and strategies that shape leadership entry, advancement, and retention.

Using a descriptive case study design, five Black women with professional experience as presidents, provosts, vice provosts, and academic deans participated in semi‑structured interviews lasting 45 to 75 minutes. Purposeful sampling ensured …