Educational Leadership Commons^™

Improvements Upon Reprocessing Of Orthopedic Single-Use Instruments, Alyssa P. Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Internal Medline data for Hospital A, a level I academic trauma center, identified a quality gap due to improper segregation and underutilization of orthopedic single-use device reprocessing bins. The baseline reprocessing rate of 4% for orthopedic products results in missed sustainability opportunities, financial strain, and increased regulated waste. A proposed quality improvement intervention implemented updated communication strategies, visual management tools, and education modules to reinforce current reprocessing workflows and close knowledge gaps. Outcome measures include the percentage of SUDs collected for reprocessing, survey results on reprocessing awareness, and potential financial savings in Appendix I. Early data showed a 10% year-to-year …

Access In Teaching Stem Subjects To The Blind, Ashley E. Neybert

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

There are still many gaps in the literature regarding the difficulties faced by instructors of students who are blind and low vision and who teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subjects. We surveyed 26 K-12 STEM teachers about accessible materials they are aware of versus which accessible materials they use in their classrooms, their thoughts on how common challenges identified in the extent literature affect them in their teaching, and their perspective on how much extra time may be required for blind and low vision students (if any) to effectively learn STEM subjects.

A Phenomenological Study Exploring How Leaders At Acsi-Accredited Christian Schools In North And South Carolina Implement And Integrate A Biblical Worldview, Terry A. Richards Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how leaders at ACSI-accredited Christian schools in North and South Carolina experienced integrating a biblical worldview. The study examined the strategies leaders considered effective, the challenges they encountered, and the approaches they used to foster collaboration among school leaders, faculty, and families. Using in-depth interviews to explore and illuminate the experiences of nine Christian school leaders, this study analyzed participants’ accounts to identify recurring themes. The findings indicated that participants understood biblical worldview integration as an intentional, schoolwide process rather than isolated religious tasks assigned to key activities, Bible classes, or chapel services. Participants also …

Leveraging A Model Of Intergroup Competencies: A Reflexive Tool For Developing Diversity Leadership In Higher Education, Arig Al Shaibah

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Despite, or perhaps precisely because of, the current partisan pushback against equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts in Western higher education institutions, universities may be well served to renovate their approaches to leadership diversity development to build greater capacity for advancing mission-critical inclusion excellence priorities. This article describes a promising educational intervention that has broad applicability to more meaningfully develop leadership proficiencies that better enable the advancement of EDI goals in higher education. While individual diversity leadership development programming is a micro-level intervention, it could prove beneficial—though insufficient on its own—as a prerequisite for macro-level equity and inclusion policymaking and …

People Orientation And Thing Orientation In Business Majors: Implications For Assessing The Impacts Of Cross-Functional Business Program Curricula, Todd J. Hostager, David A. Christopher, Kristy J. Lauver, Christopher Knowles

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose:  Prior research documented significant differences in people orientation and thing orientation (PTO) based on type of major and sex.  This study examines a set of measures for helping business programs to assess whether they are producing graduates equipped to consider both people and things when making decisions, regardless of their major or sex.

Methods/Design:  Students in a strategic management capstone course spent a single 75-minute session responding to a brief new venture pitch by identifying what types of additional information they would need to decide whether to invest in the business.  Three Likert-scaled options gauged the extent to participant …

Solving For X: Centering Black Girls’ Experiences In Mathematics Education, Natasha A. Fortes

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Black girls can grow up, attend school, and move through their math classes without ever feeling seen as capable mathematical thinkers. Their teachers may not affirm their brilliance. Their voices may even go unheard. Math classes may not be a space where they can imagine themselves belonging. These experiences do not reflect ability. Instead, they reflect on the conditions in which they are expected to learn. This study centers the voices of Black girls and asks what they deserve from their mathematics education and instructors to develop a mathematics identity. The study is grounded in Black feminist traditions and draws …

Restorative Practices And Resilience Among Trauma-Impacted Elementary Students, Rose E. Ostenson

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper examined how restorative practices may promote resilience among trauma-impacted elementary school students. Fifteen peer-reviewed studies were analyzed to address the following research question: How do restorative practices promote resilience among trauma-impacted students in elementary schools? Three consistent themes emerged from the literature: relationship building and relational safety, school connectedness and belonging, and emotional regulation and co-regulation. These themes represent crucial protective factors associated with resilience among children who have experienced trauma. Although resilience was not directly measured in most of the studies reviewed, the findings consistently suggested that restorative practices may strengthen the relational, social, and emotional conditions …

Healthcare Students’ Experiences Using Artificial Intelligence Simulation Tools In Clinical Simulated Laboratory Practice, Delicia S. Cousin

Student Dissertations

Artificial intelligence-driven simulation has become an important component of healthcare education by providing students with opportunities to strengthen clinical reasoning, decision-making, and technical skills in a safe learning environment. Despite its growing adoption, limited research has explored how healthcare students experience artificial intelligence-driven simulation during clinical laboratory practice. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore healthcare students’ experiences using artificial intelligence-driven simulation tools during clinical laboratory practice. Guided by Experiential Learning Theory and Transformative Learning Theory, the study examined how students interpreted, reflected upon, and learned from these experiences. Data were collected through a researcher-developed Qualtrics questionnaire …

Political Linguistics And Epistemic Agency: Universal Write Publications And The Defense Of Global Black Knowledge, Ayo Sekai

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

As linguistic erasure intensifies across the African world, the preservation of African-centered knowledge systems has become both a scholarly and political imperative. This article examines the relationship between linguistic imperialism, epistemic agency, and scholarly sovereignty through the intellectual trajectory of Dr. Ayo Sekai, political linguist and founder of Universal Write Publications (UWP), a Black woman–owned academic press dedicated to culturally grounded scholarship. Expanding traditional understandings of linguistic imperialism, Dr. Sekai advances political linguistics beyond structural language dominance to examine who holds linguistic power and how that power operates through dog whistle politics, signaling terms, and policy language code—discursive patterns embedded …

What Makes Implicit Bias Training Effective? An Examination Of Training Program Interventions And K-12 Educator Experiences, Kyleigh K. Mcaloon

McNair Summer Research Program

Differences in disciplinary referrals based on race have led many to argue that bias may influence disciplinary decisions. Implicit bias (IB) training is designed to address such disparities by raising awareness of biases that may impact assessment of behavior and disciplinary decisions. In recent years, many have questioned the validity of IB as a construct and also the potential impact of training. Some scholars argue that these programs fail to produce meaningful behavioral change and may unintentionally reinforce or increase bias. The aim of the present study was to investigate how individuals receive and respond to such training. Sixteen K-12 …

The Relativity Of Education: Student Perspectives On Artificial Intelligence In Community College, Ashley Greta Magana

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how diverse community college students experience and make meaning of the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational contexts. Although AI is quickly transforming higher education through automated grading, personalized learning systems, and new models of assessment, the discourse surrounding its implementation remains dominated by administrators, faculty, and institutional stakeholders, while the perspectives of students, specifically community college students who are often historically underrepresented and economically marginalized, are systematically excluded. Most existing research is quantitative and centered on universities, leaving a critical gap in qualitative understanding of the most diverse population in higher …

The Human Side Of Policy: Rural Teachers And Alberta’S 2024 Mobile Device Ban, Kelly A. Smith

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Technology-restrictive educational policies are increasingly shaping classroom practice, yet limited qualitative research has examined how teachers experience implementing these mandates in rural contexts. This study explored how rural elementary teachers experienced Alberta’s 2024 Ministerial Order banning personal mobile devices during instructional time. Using a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight rural elementary teachers and analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: policy ambiguity, reduced professional autonomy, emotional labour, and leadership as a mediating force. Findings suggest the policy functioned as more than a classroom technology restriction, shaping trust, instructional flexibility, teacher well-being, and school relationships. The study …

Leadership Role In The Formation Of Leadership Qualities, Culture Of Business Communication, And Emotional Intelligence Of Future Higher Education Professionals, Larysa Hren, Arseniy Khaziyev, Kostiantyn Kachailo, Ivan Kirsanov, Mykola Chebotarev

Higher Learning Research Communications

Introduction/Aims: The study was conducted among 2nd- and 3rd-year undergraduate students and 1st-year master’s students majoring in three specialties: psychology, social security, and medicine. The research examined the influence of leadership qualities on professional training, emotion management, and business communication skills of students in higher education institutions. It explored how these competencies collectively enhance adaptability and preparedness for professional activities in fields such as psychology, social work, and medicine, addressing gaps in educational methodologies.

Methods: We employed a comprehensive, four-stage methodology with content analysis as the primary data collection method. The study involved 63 participants from the National …

Listening To Learn: Preservice Teachers’ Voice On What Matters Most In Their University Preparation Programs, David Wolff, Scott Klimek, Elizabeth Y. Dale

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

This study explores the perspectives of preserviceteacher candidates on the topics in education they perceive as the most important and urgent as they prepare for their first year of teaching. Utilizing quantitative methodology, the study aims to identify and prioritize educational topics sixty (n = 60) preservice teacher candidates believed were critical to their professional development. Participants are asked to rate the topics based on two criteria: urgency and importance. Each topic is rated on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 indicated unfamiliarly with the topic, 1 indicated low urgency or importance, and 5 indicates high urgency …

Collaborating With Our Ai Research Companion: Exploring The Use Of Microsoft Copilot To Conduct Inductive And Deductive Coding In Qualitative Research, David Wolff, Melissa Wolff, Mark Diacopoulos

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Higher Education faculty balance time in teaching, scholarship, and service, along with many other duties in their roles (Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, 2024). In our efforts to be stewards of our time and craft, faculty look for ways to be more efficient in these areas. With the increase of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our personal and professional lives, this paper discusses the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), Microsoft Copilot, as an analytic tool in the qualitative data analysis process. Qualitative data was collected from transcripts of recorded meetings and an online journal that included text and …

Preparing Teachers To Read The Data: Strengthening Data Literacy For Early Literacy Decision-Making, Tevia Q. Strand

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Teachers are increasingly expected to use literacy screening and benchmark data to guide instruction, identify student needs, and participate in multi-tiered systems of support. However, pre-service and early-career teachers may enter the profession without sufficient preparation to interpret assessment data or connect benchmark patterns to instructional action. This white paper examines the gap between teacher preparation and the realities of K-12 data use, with particular attention to early literacy decision-making. Drawing from Bradbury’s discussion of teacher preparation and the changing realities of education, this paper argues that data literacy is an essential part of preparing teachers for equitable classroom practice. …

The Role Of Perceived Academic And Peer Support In Mitigating Imposter Syndrome Among Adhd Students, Eden Morley Dr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in higher education is associated with significant executive functioning deficits and performance inconsistencies. These challenges, alongside heightened rejection sensitivity, may predispose students to the Imposter Phenomenon (IP)—the persistent belief that one’s success is undeserved. While social and academic supports are known to buffer psychological distress, their specific role in mitigating IP within the ADHD student population remains under-researched.

Objectives: This study investigated the severity of IP among undergraduate students with ADHD and examined the protective roles of Perceived Social Support (PSS) and Perceived Academic Support (PAS), while exploring gender as a potential moderator.

Methodology: A cross-sectional …

How Does An Advanced Educator Utilize Digital Language Teaching And Learning By Integrating Linguistic, Cultural, And Business Life Perspectives?, Hely Westerholm, Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper explores advanced educators’ digital working capabilities in online language teaching, with a particular focus on sharing Finnish language and culture in a foreign context. Cultural and linguistic knowledge play a significant role in enhancing students’ motivation to study foreign languages. In today’s educational environment, digitalisation and globalisation exert an increasing influence on foreign language teaching and learning.

The digital learning environment has brought about a paradigm shift in foreign language didactics. Digital language learning is both challenging and holistic in nature. Continued foreign language learning is simultaneously an individual and a social process, as digital learning cultures impose …

How Grades Changed Before, During And After Covid-19 In A Business College, Douglas R. Moodie, Alison Keefe, Robin Cheramie

International Journal for Business Education

Purpose: This study examines how undergraduate business student grades changed before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using a large institutional dataset from a business college in a US university between 2015 and 2024.

Method: The analysis includes over 390,000 student-course observations and incorporates instructional modality, student demographics, course characteristics, and prior academic performance.

Results: Results show a substantial increase in mean course grades during the COVID-19 period, followed by a partial reversion post-pandemic to levels that remain above pre-pandemic trends. These patterns are consistent across modalities, demographics, and departments.

Implications: The findings raise important questions regarding the interpretation of …

Beyond The Prompt: Coding The Magis In The Age Of Ai, Vanessa Rotondo

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

As a scholar-practitioner in Jesuit higher education, I’ve witnessed how generative AI is not merely a tool students use—it’s a formative force that shapes how they reflect, imagine, and even pray. Drawing on the Catholic imagination, Ignatian pedagogy, and sociological frameworks like liquid modernity, I argue that Jesuit institutions must respond not just technologically and reactively, but actively anticipate methods of integrating AI both theologically and pedagogically. I introduce the concept of Imaginative Intelligence as a formative goal—an embodied, sacramental way of knowing that invites depth, wonder, and resistance to automation. This is not a call to reject AI, but …

Called To Accuracy, Brick By Brick: Recordkeeping And Reporting Amid Cultural Pressures And Training Gaps, Amber L. Wilson, Sarah J. Boettger, Janet K. Brown, Kjell Fenn, Jessica E. Kuehne, David L. Ream

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This research investigates how faculty at Christian higher education interpret the impact of expected recordkeeping and reporting. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions and expectations of recordkeeping and reporting that impact job satisfaction. By examining recordkeeping and reporting and the influence of culture as key factors affecting job satisfaction in Christian higher education, insights were gathered through six faculty member interviews. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, journals, and discussion board posts. This transcendental phenomenological study sought to explore the lived experiences of six faculty members at a large private Christian university in the southeastern …

The Impact Of Wicor Strategies On Academic Achievement In Secondary Classrooms, Neketa G. Watson

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined the impact of Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR) instructional strategies on academic achievement and student learning in secondary schools. Conducted within a large, diverse school district, the study explored teacher and administrator perceptions of WICOR implementation and examined student achievement data across three secondary schools. Data were collected through Likert-scale surveys from 29 teachers and five administrators, semi-structured interviews with five administrators, and three years of extant state assessment data. Findings revealed strong positive perceptions of WICOR’s effectiveness in promoting student engagement, critical thinking, instructional consistency, and academic success. Participants also identified implementation challenges …

The Perception Of Students Toward Post-Pandemic Online Graduate Programs At A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu) In The South, April Ivery

Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of online graduate students regarding the accessibility and usefulness of support services (Online Academic Advising, Online Technical Support, Online Counseling Services, Online Library Resources, and Online Career Services) at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the southern United States. The study aimed to examine the attitudes of online students towards these support systems and to determine whether these attitudes played a role in their learning process. The primary research question was: What is the relationship between the accessibility of support systems and students' perceptions of those support systems in online graduate programs at …

Transformative Teaching And Learning - Practicing Emancipation Through Co-Construction And Dialogue In Workplace Learning, Lisa Roe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING: PRACTICING EMANCIPATIONTHROUGH CO-CONSTRUCTION, AND DIALOGUE IN WORKPLACE TEACHING ANDLEARNING

June 2026

Lisa A. Roe, B.A., University of Maine

M.Ed., Suffolk University

Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Boston

Directed by Professor Patricia Krueger-Henney

This dissertation investigates how emancipatory and creative practices can transform vocational high school classrooms into spaces of shared power, dialogue, and mastery-based learning. Using an autoethnographic methodology, I examined my practice as a vocational educator in information technology over the course of an academic year.

Grounded in Wheatley’s fractal organization theory, Kincheloe’s critical constructivism, Lave and Wenger’s situated learning, and dialogic pedagogy, …

Leading In The Classroom Empowering Educators In Paraguay, Carissa State Gober, Donna Zerr, Jason Clemensen, Aaron Hurt

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Here’s a simplified version of the abstract with clear, straightforward language:

Abstract

In May 2026, faculty and staff from Pittsburg State University gave presentations in Asunción and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. The sessions focused on practical topics for educators and students, including strategies for teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), ways to use artificial intelligence in education, leadership tips, and international opportunities available at Pittsburg State University. Each session encouraged participation and discussion, helping connect Paraguayan educators and students with new ideas and resources. These events showed the university’s commitment to building international partnerships, supporting teachers with useful …

Layers Of Representation: A Multidimensional Book Analysis, Mariah Pfundheller, Nikki Logan, Amy E. Lein, Sydney Bueno

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This study evaluates how educators interpret the Multidimensional Framework for Inclusive Literature (MDFIL), a tool for evaluating and selecting multicultural literature for their classrooms. Participants self-identified as current, former/retired, or student teachers, or as undergraduates pursuing a teaching license at the time of the survey. Incorporating multicultural literature into educational settings has a positive impact on children's development. Multicultural literature fosters feelings of acceptance, cultural awareness, and empathy among students. By exposing children to diverse cultural perspectives, multicultural literature not only enhances their understanding of their own identities but also cultivates a greater appreciation of others' experiences. The benefits of …

For My Oklahomies: Educators’ Perspectives On Policy, Public Discourse, And Professional Wellbeing, Cassandra Herndon

Dissertations

This critical qualitative study examines how ideologies rooted in ultra-conservative movements shape the professional lives of Oklahoma K–12 educators, and how they maneuver, resist, or accommodate ideological forces within a climate of surveillance and professional delegitimization. Grounded in critical social theory and drawing on Foucault (1977) and Leonardo (2003), the study applies a recontextualized model of transformational resistance (Hannegan-Martinez et al., 2024) to analyze educators’ acts of agency within a restrictive policy landscape.

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with eight Oklahoma K–12 teachers and administrators, this study employs critical narrative inquiry alongside reflexive thematic and critical policy analysis to ask: (1) …

From Learners To Leaders: A Peer-Led Simulation Program For Anesthesia Procedural Skills Training In Medical Students, Noah S. Kos, Ryan Beyers, Chloe Sutlick, Benjamin Sun, Tochi Mbagwu, Dr. John D. Mitchell Md

Medical Student Research Symposium

Title: From Learners to Leaders: A Peer-Led Simulation Program for Anesthesia Procedural Skills Training in Medical Students

Authors: Noah Kos, Ryan Beyers, Chloe Sutlick, Benjamin Sun, Tochi Mbagwu, John D. Mitchell, M.D.

Background: Procedural skill competency is vital in medical education, but limited faculty availability poses challenges. We implemented a peer-led simulation program teaching peripheral IV insertion (PIV) and endotracheal intubation, with a focus on student leadership.

Methods: Sixteen peer educators, trained by attendings, conducted monthly workshops from July-October 2025. Students practiced at PIV and intubation stations, assessed via validated rubrics (17 items for PIV, 21 for intubation; 5-point scale). …

Who Gets To Be Taken Seriously? Three Atypical Scholars Navigate Doctoral Education At The Intersections Of Race, Neurodivergence, And Veteran Identity, Sr. Richard De La Garza

Dissertations

As a first-generation, neurodivergent, Mexican American/Chicano veteran, I entered the University of San Diego's doctoral program having had experiences that most institutional intake processes would label as risk factors. The Findings chapter of this dissertation begins by describing those experiences—not as a confession, but as the foundation for a systematic inquiry into how doctoral legitimacy is produced, withheld, and defended. The description of my life experiences is followed by a discussion of the doctoral journeys of two other study participants who also were atypical doctoral candidates.

The central argument being advanced is this: What higher education calls "fit," "rigor," and …

We Need To Do Better: Exploring Educators’ Perspectives Of Transformative Trauma-Informed Social-Emotional Learning, Heather Stay

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This qualitative, descriptive case study examined educators’ understandings, enactment, and professional learning related to transformative, trauma-informed social-emotional learning (SEL) practices in a center-based emotional support school setting. Data were collected through semi-structured educator interviews and classroom observations to capture a holistic view of pedagogical practices. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Dis/Crit, Transformative Learning Theory, and Foucault’s Theory of Power, the findings illuminate how educators leverage trauma-informed SEL strategies to support students affected by trauma as they navigate structural and systemic constraints within a normative educational system. Results highlight both effective cultural-sustaining and trauma-responsive practices already in place, as well …