Liberal Studies Commons^™

Navigating Future Careers And Life Purpose: The Effect Of Artificial Intelligence Experiences On Undergraduate Students At A Liberal Arts College, Shannon Kelly Schans

Dissertations

This interpretive phenomenological analysis examines how 13 undergraduate students at a liberal arts college construct meaning from their experiences with artificial intelligence technologies in relation to their career development and life purpose. Guided by an integrated theoretical framework combining Career Construction Theory (Savickas, 2012, 2013) and Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991, 2000), the study addresses three research questions: how students describe their AI experiences across educational contexts, what connections they make between those experiences and their developing professional identities, and how they integrate AI experiences into broader narratives about work and purpose.

Data are collected through phenomenological interviews with 13 …

Twitteratura: Digital Social Reading And Active Reception Of Literary Texts In The Context Of Italian Contemporary Literature, Iuri Moscardi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores Digital Social Reading (DSR) as a novel mode of literary engagement, focusing on the Italian project Twitteratura, a series of social reading experiments conducted on Twitter (2012–2016) and later on the Betwyll app. The research situates Twitteratura within the intersection of Reader-Response Theory, Digital Humanities, Reception Studies, and Sociology of Literature, demonstrating how digital environments reshape the act of reading and interpretation. Through detailed analyses of four DSR projects centered on major twentieth-century Italian authors—Cesare Pavese, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italo Calvino, and Natalia Ginzburg—this dissertation argues that Twitteratura provides a concrete, data-rich demonstration of Wolfgang Iser’s reader-response …

Benefits Of Contemporary Literature On Literacy And Cognitive Development In Elementary School Students, Autumn R. Hemenway

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this capstone research project is to examine the benefits of contemporary literature on the literacy and cognitive development of elementary school students. Contemporary literature includes modern texts that reflect diverse experiences, identities, and real-life issues that students can relate to. This study reviews academic articles and interviews with elementary school teachers and school librarians to explore how these resources influence vocabulary development, reading comprehension, student engagement, and critical thinking. The findings indicated that contemporary literature supports literacy growth by increasing student motivation and connection to reading, while also promoting cognitive development through interpretation, perspective taking, and deeper …

Effects Of Access And Equity In Resources Allocation On Marginalized Elementary School Students., Giovanni Alcaraz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this capstone is to examine the effects of access and equity in resource allocations on marginalized students. Given the struggles students face when they lack the same resources as other students, this study discusses how this impacts students' learning and education, and how it would benefit them if they had greater access to resources. Through a literature review and a case study, the findings revealed that students with fewer resources are more likely to drop out of college or university, and they are mostly from poor communities because they lack sufficient resources to support themselves. However, the …

Effects Of 1:1 Smart Device Usage On K-8 Student Learning And Long Term Retention, Cole D. Young

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The widespread adoption of 1:1 smart device initiatives in K-8 classrooms across the United States has coincided with growing national concern over declining student literacy, reading comprehension, and long-term retention. This capstone research paper examines the effects of smart device integration on K-8 student learning and retention through two complementary methods: a review of peer-reviewed academic literature and a series of interviews conducted with five educators working across a range of grade levels and school contexts. The literature review identifies a tension between the documented benefits of smart device use. Also a series of educator interviews, conducted with teachers spanning …

Cultivating Wisdom And Virtue: A Professional Development Model For Teachers Entering Classical Schools, Andrea Lyons Wells

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Andrea Lyons Wells on April 10, 2026.

Should The Illiberal Arts Be Servile In A Classical Christian Education, Nadine B. Kong Mrs.

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

The purpose of this thesis is to research the role and position of the illiberal arts in a classical Christian education (CCE).  The current climate of growth for CCE makes it a fitting moment to consider what bearing the illiberal arts should have on paideia formation.  To answer this question, the historical context of CCE and the illiberal arts is presented.  This leads to a complex issue around the various imprecise terms and historical attitudes surrounding the illiberal arts.  Some synonymous terms have demeaning connotations: ‘servile arts’ or ‘illiberal arts,’ and others less negative, such as ‘common arts’ or ‘mechanical …

Limiting A Liberal Education: Exploring Technology Access And Equity Through Universal Design And Critical Disability Studies, Marisa R. Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative improvement study investigates how classroom technology policies impact equity, access, and alignment with liberal arts values at a small Catholic liberal arts college. The study arose from concerns regarding academic accommodations, where students needed to formally request access to digital tools that were widely available. The focus is on inconsistent and sometimes restrictive technology policies that create barriers for students relying on these resources.

Interpreted through the conceptual frameworks of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Critical Disability Studies (CDS), this study was guided by the following research questions:

1. What expectations do students have regarding access to technology …

Investigating The Impacts Of Facial Gestures On Global Participants’ Perception Of The Speaker, Perception Of The Message, Emotional Responses, And Engagement During Video Conferencing, Hanan Mohammed Alghamdi

Theses and Dissertations

Facial expressions play a crucial role in shaping communication and emotional understanding during virtual interactions. This study investigated how facial expressions influence participants’ perceptions of the speaker, perceptions of the message, emotional responses, and engagement during video conferencing across diverse cultural contexts. A hybrid experimental design was implemented using self-administered questionnaires to collect quantitative data and examine cause-and-effect relationships. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three facial-expression conditions Positive (smiling and joyful), Negative (angry or nervous), or Neutral (expressionless) and viewed speakers representing three ethnic backgrounds: White American, Black American, and Middle Eastern. Using a seven-point semantic differential scale, …

Book Bans And Border Texans: Testimonios From The Middle, Laura Calvillo Neill

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study explores how Chicana and Mexican American teachers and librarians along the Texas-Mexico border describe their experiences navigating books bans and curriculum restrictions. Through a Chicana feminist epistemological lens, the research centers the testimonios of four educators who reflect on their lived experiences navigating censorship, representation, and professional identity in politically charged educational spaces.

Using a testimonio-based methodology, participants shared personal narratives that illuminated how state politics and local interpretations of "appropriate" texts shape classroom and library decisions. Thematic analysis of these testimonios revealed four interconnected findings: 1. Teacher identity under pressure, 2. Censorship and control in the …

The Substance Of Reality: Moral Perfectionism In Shakespeare's Hamlet., David Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through a selection of and close reading of key passages, I offer an interpretation of Hamlet that seeks to illuminate the play as an important work of moral philosophy, and to situate the play within a strand of moral philosophy named moral perfectionism by Stanley Cavell. Indeed, Hamlet is a masterpiece of Renaissance drama, but when read with attention to moral perfectionism, the play yields additional layers of meaning. Hamlet is a “philosophical drama” that navigates the “moral calling of philosophy”—a text that seems to, almost uncannily, elicit the audience to think reflectively, to ask fundamental human questions along …

Podcast: One To Grow On – Why Black Studies Matter When Working And Living In Black Communities, Celia E. Ceballos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the transformative potential of Black Studies in enhancing community work within Black and Brown communities in New York City. The research is driven by the author's firsthand experiences and the realization of the importance of Black Studies, which was largely absent from earlier education. Through the interdisciplinary approach of the Graduate Center’s MALS program, the author has gained a deeper understanding of key topics such as the legacy of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movements, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. This journey inspired the creation of a capstone project, …

Cuny In The News: A History Of Reporting On The Humanities At The City University Of New York, Jacqueline R. Cahill

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project compiles newspaper articles concerning humanities at the City University of New York, placing them on a timeline to establish patterns and changes within media reporting and public perception. The archival research of this project explores four distinct eras, grouped around major events in the history of the university: 1961-1971, for the founding of the university and open admissions struggle; 1980-1990, for the response to the ‘70s fiscal crisis and introduction of the Board of Trustees; 2000-2010 for the post-open admissions era and the centralization of CUNY; and 2020-present, for COVID and a new fight for racial equity. Examining …

Leading Elca Lutheran Colleges And Universities: Lutheranism, Purpose, And Alignment, Ian K. Mcmichael

Doctorate in Education

The colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) occupy a unique space within the higher education market. To varying degrees, each school currently professes to be a school of the “third path” between sectarian dogmatism and secular relativism. However, the mission of these schools has shifted dramatically since their founding and whether there is anything markedly different between them and secular liberal arts schools remains an open question. While research has addressed mission, values, and purpose in this context, what has not been extensively explored previously is the role the leaders of these institutions play …

Impact Of Afterschool Programs On Students; Social Development And Emotional Learning, Natalie B. Harper

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Afterschool programs are described as activities that are organized and structured outside of the regular school day where there is a time where there is no academic pressure and, therefore, is a time with the potential to enhance social-emotional skills development and learning. The capacity to genuinely implement social emotional learning (SEL) programs that are hindered by difficulties in staff training and turnover, in addition to funding. This senior capstone project explores the impact of afterschool programs on students' social and emotional learning at a Monterey Bay charter school, especially in their ability to impact peer and teacher relationships, ultimately …

Effects Of Teen Parents On Elementary School Students’ Academic Performance And Well-Being, Victoria Canchola

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone research project examines the academic achievement and general welfare of elementary school children who have teenage parents. With the help of literature review, original qualitative research, anonymous surveys were sent to teachers and teen parents. The result findings uncover the difficulties faced by children of adolescent parents in terms of educational attainment. Highlighted findings revealed the complex interplay of socio-economic disadvantage, inadequate parental self-efficacy, emotional distress, and heightened learning environment barriers that these students face. These in turn affect their trajectory of development. In addition, responses from teachers indicated the chronic underachieving academically, exhibiting behavioral problems of the …

The Benefits Of Experiential Outdoor Learning For Elementary School Students, Jillian R. Witt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project aims to delve deeper into the benefits of experiential outdoor learning that contributes to the growing body of knowledge and practical applications of this dynamic educational approach of elementary school students. Through the use of literature review, interviews with program workers and school administrators and survey with educators and past students, the result findings indicated that experiential outdoor learning benefits elementary school students despite some cost challenges, but provided them with more opportunities to learn from outdoor activities to increase their academic achievement, improve their cognition, and enhance their social skills with a deeper sense …

Impact Of Private Early Childhood Education On Academic And Social Preparedness Of Preschoolers, Destiny E. Rizo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Early childhood education plays a crucial role in shaping a child's academic and social development. This senior capstone examines how private preschool programs influence kindergarten readiness in both academic and social domains. Through a literature review and interviews with early childhood educators, this project explores the specific practices within private programs that contribute to children's preparedness. The result findings indicated that smaller class size, individualized instruction, and enriched learning environments are the key factors that could really support early learning success for children. As a future educator, this research highlights the value of incorporating these strategies into public school curriculum …

Impact Of Bilingual Education On The Academics Of Elementary School Students, Angelica M. Lopez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research investigates the impact of bilingual education on the academic performance of elementary school students, with a particular focus on Hispanic students in the Soledad area. As bilingual education continues to grow in importance across the United States, understanding its influence on students' academic outcomes is crucial. This study explores the definition, types, and historical evolution of bilingual education, with emphasis on how bilingual programs affect elementary school students' cognitive development, academic performance, and overall school experience. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research includes surveys administered to teachers and parents, assessing their perspectives on the availability and …

Legacy Of Learning: The Journey Of Males Of Color And The Sustaining Power Of Community Cultural Wealth, Marvin Espinoza

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This phenomenological study explores how males of color in South Los Angeles utilize Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) to navigate educational pathways from high school through community college and university. Grounded in Yosso’s (2005) CCW framework—which includes aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistance capital—this study centers the voices of ten first-generation African American and Latino/Latinx males from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Using a mixed methods design, the research combined participant intake surveys, structured questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews to capture how these students persist in the face of systemic barriers. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, while survey responses …

Professional Development To Foster Rigorous, Student-Centered Discussions In Literacy, Elizabeth Hain

Masters Projects

This project looks at the gap of rigorous student discussion in literacy comprehension. It dives into research showing the impact of academic conversations for literacy comprehension. The project explores how professional development (PD) can equip teachers with strategies to foster student-centered discussions. The PD is designed to build teachers’ ability to implement Question the Author (QtA) techniques and facilitate rigorous, text-based discourse through Academic Conversations. The study aligns with constructivist learning theories, specifically Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the role of metacognition in reading comprehension. Best implementation to facilitate the PD is post NWEA/State testing, allowing teachers to …

Navigating Climate Action: The River As Teacher For Eco-Literacy, Educational Regeneration And Creative Participation, Bibi (Silvina) Calderaro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cultures' engagements with land and its more-than-human elements reveal their attitudes toward these dimensions, spanning a spectrum from reciprocal to transactional practices. In time, these engagements form a body of knowledges that nurtures the culture and its land, or arrests their vital and diverse qualities. This research project aims to bring to light how the different ways of engaging with and relating to land are embedded in knowledge production, distribution and communication—in short, in general educational endeavors and their philosophies—to promote a better understanding of the principles of eco-literacy. Additionally, a purpose of this project is to provide insights into …

Duae Cypriani Soarez Praefationes Ad Opus De Arte Rhetorica Libri Tres Commentariis Rhetoricis Instructae, Marcus Porto

Theses and Dissertations--Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures

De Arte Rhetorica Libri Tres (1562) written by Cyprian Soarez (1524-1593), priest and teacher of the Society of Jesus, was the standard rhetorical manual in the Ratio Studiorum and thus was used for over two centuries in Jesuit colleges throughout the world. Concerned that young students of Latin were not yet ready for the major rhetorical texts of antiquity, such as Cicero’s and Quintilian’s, Soarez wrote this manual as a digest of ancient rhetoric to the beginner. This thesis uses the rhetorical precepts found in Cyprian’s work to analyze the work’s own two prefaces. Thus, it aims at providing …

Campesino World-Building: Stories Of Migration, Memory, And Care In The Tension Of The Colonial Frame, Chelsea Ríos Gómez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Campesinos, often reduced to the label of “farmworkers”, are too often seen only through the lens of their labor within profit-driven systems. This thesis disrupts that limited narrative by illuminating the rich, expansive nature of vivencias campesinas, ways of being that transcend capitalist measures of value. These vivencias are lived, embodied experiences rooted in campesino lifeways, encompassing cultural, spiritual, and relational practices that nurture and sustain life.

My research is guided by four central questions: (1) In what ways have campesinos in pixley resisted exploitative labor systems, and how can this resistance be understood as a form of care labor? …

Harmony Or Discord? A Study On The Alignment Between National Objectives And Reformed Social Studies Textbooks In Egypt, Lina Yehia

Theses and Dissertations

Education systems, in many parts of the world, have served as a channel for communicating national goals to students, and Egypt has not been an exception. This study examines how public textbooks effectively align with equipping future generations of Egyptians to fulfill the nation’s development policy goals set for 2030. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this study employed textbook and document analyses of the published national policy goals of the current administration, along with the most recently reformed social studies textbooks of Grades 4, 5, and 6, a product of EDU 2.0. Based on an analysis of national documents, the …

Understanding Self-Efficacy And Motivation In Elementary Teachers: The Influence And Support Of School Administrators, Maria Vigil

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Teachers’ attrition is commonly seen within the first five years in the profession. Various reasons exist as the cause for this decision including: low pay rates, lack of support and stress. With the important role educators hold, a clear understanding of their specific needs can help strengthen their abilities while remaining in the field. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand teachers’ perspectives of what influences their self-efficacy and motivation in order to promote strong work performance, effectiveness, increase teacher satisfaction and retention rates while highlighting the impact of support provided by school administrators. The research questions …

21st Century Community Learning Centers: Program Evaluation Evidence From Texas, Rosilyn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas afterschool programs strive to enhance academic performance and meet students' needs, yet gaps in program quality persist. This study evaluated 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ performance in reading, math, GPA, attendance, in-school suspension, and engagement, both within these categories and against program goals and demographics. Theoretical frameworks used in this study include the logic model, social justice theory, and cultural relevance theory. This quantitative study utilized a nonexperimental and secondary data research design which utilized five statistical tests: the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, One-Way repeated ANOVA, Spearman Correlation, the Independent Samples t-Test, and the Mann-Whitney U Test. Results showed that …

The Impact Of Single Parent Households On Middle School Students, Erik Puga

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research explores the influence of single-parent households on the academic achievement of middle school students in Salinas, CA, with a particular focus on East Salinas, an area marked by economic challenges. Grounded in my personal experience growing up in a single-parent household in Salinas and shaped by my journey through the Alisal district pipeline, this study seeks to uncover the specific barriers and strengths that middle school students from single-parent families encounter. By examining socioeconomic pressures, parental involvement, and emotional well-being, I aim to identify how family structure affects students’ educational trajectories within the community. This research strives to …

Decreasing The Reading Gap In Upper Elementary, Carly L. Johnson

Masters Projects

Students are entering 4th grade well below grade level in reading, and the reading achievement gap continues to grow every year. When students are below grade level it can lead to other subject areas being more difficult on the student. The main factors of students struggling to read are low motivation to read and the lack of phonemic awareness. This project provides research explaining why students are below grade level and the best ways to address these problems. Teachers have the ability to aid students in reaching grade level when it comes to reading. Next, the project addresses strategies and …

Twenty Years Of Community-Based College Success: Oral Histories From Practitioners, Partners, And Peer Mentors Supporting City University Of New York (Cuny) Students, Benjamin J. Carey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For the past twenty years, community-based college success programs have supported a generation of young people entering all twenty-five City University of New York (CUNY) Colleges. As the country’s largest urban university system, CUNY has historically been a major engine of economic mobility for young people in New York City. However, gaps in academic preparation and navigational support have weakened student persistence and graduation rates. Community-based organizations (CBOs) that have provided college access support to New York City public school students since the 1980s began to extend their services into college to provide targeted interventions and improve student outcomes. Grounded …