Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Introduction: Queering Rural Education, Leia K. Cain, Ty Mcnamee, Darris Means

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In this editorial introduction, we situate this dual-journal special issue within the current legislative landscape targeting queer and trans people across North America in rural communities. We describe our collaboration with the editorial teams of the Journal of Research in Rural Education and the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education to illuminate the experiences and perspectives of queer youth and adults in and from rural spaces. We then introduce the articles published in JQTSiE, which are organized into four interrelated themes: (1) Embodied Pedagogies and Spatial Navigation, (2) Institutional Structures and Resistance, (3) Community, Literacy, and Representation, …

Empowerment Pedagogy: A Mixed Methods Grounded Theory Approach To Developing A Pedagogical Framework For Empowering Middle School Aged Students, Henry James Bryant

Educational Studies Dissertations

The current state of adolescent well-being in “post-COVID” America demonstrates a need for widespread intervention to aid students in coping with trauma and mental health issues. In a review of the literature, feelings of empowerment have been found to be antithetical to feelings of trauma. Moreover, the benefits of empowerment in terms of adolescent mental health, academic achievement, and behaviors are well documented. However, strategies designed to impact students’ feelings of empowerment have not been well established, and programs that are presently offered are often inaccessible due to cost, public opinion, and a need for whole school adoption. In this …

Threads Of Empathy: An Integrative Model Of Empathy In The Schools, Arthur J. Clark, Tara M. Simpson

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

Empathy has a distinctive and evolving history in education for cultivating human relationships and engendering mutual understanding. Within a school setting, empathic engagement is essential for the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. From an educational perspective, literature from multiple disciplines and specialties illustrate innovative practices to harness empathy in the classroom and beyond. The representative initiatives hold promise for developing an integrative model of empathy within a school or a school district through a program involving interprofessional collaboration.

Conducting A Qualitative Umbrella Review For Novice Researchers: A Critical Reflection Of Primary Documents, Mónica Fontana, Celia Camilli Trujillo

The Qualitative Report

The need for scientific evidence in education has accelerated systematic reviews. However, the practice of conducting umbrella reviews is not yet common in education. Among the possible reasons for the scarce number of umbrella reviews in education is the lack of knowledge of the steps required to conduct them and the specific challenges of this method. Their usefulness in the educational context lies in their ability to offer new findings of great scope and transferability based on evidence from multiple systematic reviews in an efficient and in-depth manner. This study provides a critical reflection on the methodological implications of conducting …

Evaluating The Impact Of Tennessee House Bill 2327 & Senate Bill 2055, Kya Cousino, Emily Redford, Leah M. Vetters

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays often require consistent therapeutic interventions such as speech therapy, occupational therapy (OT), or applied behavior analysis (ABA) in order to meaningfully access their education (Treatment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder, 2024). However, service shortages, scheduling barriers, and restrictions on outside providers during the school day frequently create gaps in care. As a result, families may be forced to choose between their child’s educational attendance and the continuity of medically or developmentally necessary services.

House Bill 2327 and corresponding Senate Bill 2055 seek to address this barrier by requiring Local Education …

Investigating The Viability Of Fully Online Asynchronous Physics Instruction In Formal Education, Clifton W. Massey-Noel

Physics Dissertations

In this dissertation we present results from two consecutive investigations into the fully online asynchronous modality in Physics Education. We first discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Modern Physics held in Fall 2024. The asynchronous section is compared with four prior partially-flipped sections of the same class, two of which were held in-person, and two of which were held synchronously online. Results suggest that all three modalities can be made to be about equally as effective. We also discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Calculus-Based Introductory Mechanics held in Fall 2025. The …

Reading Wars, Don Herzog

Books

Once again, we’re fighting wars over reading. Who gets to read? What do they get to read? These days, the right is obsessed with removing LGBTQ books from school and public library shelves and ensuring students read only the Correct version of American history. The left is obsessed with eradicating right-wing fantasies, not to mention outright lies, from the internet, and with airbrushing or even purging racist texts. You don’t have to stoop to whataboutery to notice a suspicious resemblance. But once again is wrong. We’ve always fought these wars, even if the enemies come and go. In this book, …

A Delphi Study: Communication Practices For Expert Elementary Administrators During Day-To-Day Crises On Elementary School Campuses, Anthony Michael Langford

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the communication practices expert elementary school administrators consider the most effective for informing their district office, staff, students, parents, and the community during day-to-day crises. The study also evaluated the effectiveness of these identified practices and determined the best methods for implementing the top three practices in each area. Methodology: This Delphi study focused on three areas of research: (a) the practices expert elementary administrators use to communicate during day-to-day crises, (b) the way expert elementary administrators rate the effectiveness of those practices, and (c) the methods expert elementary administrators …

Learning For A Sustainable Future: Embedding Sustainability Literacy In Honors Curricula Within Higher Education, Zoe E. Belinda

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This research investigates the sustainability literacy levels of first-year Davidson Honors College (DHC) students at the University of Montana (UM) to develop a baseline for average sustainability knowledge at the beginning of students’ post-secondary education. The goals of this research are to (1) determine if there are differences in sustainability literacy scores between students in sustainability-related fields of study and their counterparts, (2) identify weaknesses in students’ current sustainability literacy, and (3) develop curriculum suggestions to improve sustainability knowledge. To address these research questions, all first-year DHC students in 2024 and 2025 were surveyed using a modified version of the …

The State Of Funding For Curriculum Materials Centers And Collections, Caitlin Stewart, Jenelle Johnson

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, researchers analyzed whether there was a correlation between education student enrollment and curriculum materials center/collection (CMC) budget across eighty universities in the United States. Findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between those variables, although the relationship is weak. Universities with large education programs tend to have better-funded CMCs; however, variability across institutions is still significant. Findings suggest that many university CMCs may be comparatively underfunded based on student enrollment in education and historical trends.

Exploring Perceived School Administrator Leadership Support And Teacher Burnout, Matthew H. Stifelman

Theses and Dissertations

Burnout is an issue that affects those in numerous occupational settings and comes with tremendous risks for physical and psychological consequences (Edú-Balsania et al., 2022). Burnout is defined as one’s psychological response to chronic work stressors that can cause cognitive, emotional, or physical health damage (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Decades of research have identified numerous risk factors for burnout across occupations. Risk factors include job and personal values, workload, lack Burnout is an issue that affects those in numerous occupational settings and comes with tremendous risks for physical and psychological consequences (Edú-Balsania et al., 2022). Burnout is defined as one’s …

Long-Term Effect Of Aces On Children’S Mental Health, Substance Abuse, And Education, Annalisa M. Lobello, Kayla A. Kemer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project will aim to discover how adverse childhood experiences (ACES) affect a child’s mental health, substance use, and education. ACES are potentially traumatic events that occur between ages zero to seventeen (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, 2024). Some examples could include experiencing violence, abuse, neglect, having a family member attempt or die by suicide, growing up around substance use, mental health problems, parental separation, and household members being incarcerated. ACES are widely recognized as powerful predictors on long-term outcomes of children. This proposal will highlight the importance of recognizing ACES within children, trauma-informed care, and appropriate interventions …

Governing Generative Ai In Higher Education: A Global Delphi Study On Policy And Practice, Helen Crompton, Diane Burke, Christine Nickel, Aras Bozkurt, Fengchun Miao, Mike Sharples, Jeffrey Alan Greene, David Parsons, Lucy Gill-Simmen, Adam Edmett, Mark Pegrum, Inge De Waard, Curtis J. Bonk, Manuel B. Garcia, John H. Curry, Leeann Lindsey, Mohan Yang, Stephen Marshall, Maha Bali, Nellie Deutsch, Suzaan Le Roux, Mourad Benali, Mohd Ali Bin Samsudin, Hasan Tinmaz, Matthew L. Bernacki, Mari Van Wyk, Lenandlar Singh, Agnes Chigona, Lance Eaton, Junhong Xiao, Johanna Velander, Jinhee Kim, Francisco Bellas, R. Rajalakshmi, Andréia De Bem Machado, Agnieszka Palalas, Sean Yu

STEMPS Faculty Publications

As GenAI technologies become more pervasive in higher education (HE), scholars call for guidance on AI governance. To meet this need, a Delphi technique and collective writing was used in gathering expert perspectives from across 22 countries/locations and six continents. This resulted in the development of a HE GenAI policy/guidelines framework with eight core areas: (1) academic integrity, (2) ethical use and responsible use, (3) privacy and protection, (4) equitable access, (5) GenAI literacy, (6) integration strategy, (7) human oversight and accountability, and (8) institutional support and infrastructure. In addition, a six-part framework was developed to ensure that policies remain …

Understanding The Role Of School Resource Officers In Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs: A Phenomenological Study, Ryan Christopher Vinzant

Dissertations and Theses

Since the 1990s School Resource Officers (SROs) have been commonly employed in schools throughout the United States. However, their jobs may look very different depending on what setting they are in and the different administrative policies governing their work. Throughout this time, researchers have focused on the different roles that SROs have within the educational environment and how these roles are put into action when interacting with students. However, there have been limited studies exploring the role SROs play when interacting with students who are experiencing mental health problems or experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental health problems have become …

Early Stem Impressions, Student Engagement, And Readiness For Digitalization, Myron Sheu

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study examines how early impressions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) shape business students’ learning behaviors and, ultimately, their readiness for organizational digitalization. Focusing on gender differences, subgroup identities, and perceived obstacles, the analysis uses survey data processed through correlation matrices, regression models, and subgroup heatmaps to trace the relationship between initial attitudes toward STEM and subsequent engagement patterns. The findings reveal consistent links between positive early impressions and active participation in structured STEM activities, along with gender-based distinctions in action preferences. Subgroup analyses further uncover nuanced patterns where stereotypes or perceived barriers correspond with reduced engagement. Collectively, …

A Scoping Review To Conceptualize Social Privilege For Studying Patients' Health Outcomes And Health Disparities, Elizabeth A. Brown, Priyanka Patel, Esther May B. Sarino, Vladimir Markovic, Carles Muntaner

Health Behavior, Policy & Management Faculty Publications

Background

The continued reliance on single-category self-reported demographic data (e.g., race/ethnicity) reflects conceptual limitations that hinder the study and understanding of health outcomes research. There is a pressing need for more precise measures of social privilege that conceptualize privilege and oppression while enabling the examination of their effects on health outcomes in the United States (US) healthcare system.

Objective

The purpose of this scoping review was to review the literature, determine how researchers have measured aspects of privilege and oppression, and develop a conceptual framework to study patients' social privilege in the US healthcare system and public health research.

Methods …

Languages Of Marginalization: Educational Inequality And Identity Formation Among Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh, Md Khalid Rahman

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research paper investigates how language-of-instruction policies shape educational inequality and identity formation among Rohingya refugee children living in protracted displacement in Cox’ Bazar, Bangladesh. Analyzed from a human right–based framework, the study examines whether existing educational policies align with international legal standards on the right to education, including the UDHR, ICESCR, Child Convention and SDG 4. While these frameworks guarantee non-discriminatory and inclusive access to education, the reality in Cox’s Bazar reveals a persistent gap between normative commitments and policy implementation. Moreover, the study explores how the exclusion of both the host language (Bangla) and the native Rohingya language …

Navigating Mental Wellness: A Peer-Led Journey Into Adult Services, Kristin G. Haberek

DSW Capstone Projects

Students with severe emotional disturbances (SED) occupy one of the most underserved intersections in American education and mental health care. As they age out of children’s services, they face abrupt service discontinuation, disrupted therapeutic relationships, and adult systems ill-equipped to meet their needs. These vulnerabilities, including heightened risks of crisis, hospitalization, homelessness, and justice involvement, constitute a central practice problem. This capstone addresses these transitions across three scholarly products: a systematic literature review, a theoretical concept paper, and a practical application paper, tracing a unified arc from diagnosing structural failures to proposing an evidence-informed, equity-oriented clinical response. Synthesizing key findings …

I Think I Can: The Role Of Racial Socialization And Self-Efficacy On Racial Minorities’ Stereotype Threat And Academic Achievement, Dan'n Tima

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Racial minority students continue to experience disparities in educational outcomes, leading to research interest in factors that may mitigate the effects of negative racialized experiences in academic contexts. Racial socialization—messages individuals receive about race throughout development—has been linked to positive academic and psychological outcomes in younger populations; however, its relevance for college students remains less understood. The present study examined whether racial socialization predicted academic achievement among Black and Latino undergraduate students and whether it moderated the relationship between stereotype threat and academic achievement. It was further hypothesized that self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between stereotype threat and academic achievement. …

Digital Griots Playing Lottery Tickets: A Study Of Hip Hop And Social Transformation In Ghana's #Fixthecountry Movement, Jaime M. Kowlessar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

On June 28, 2021, activist Ibrahim Mohammed (Macho Kaaka) was murdered in Ejura, Ghana, after using social media to criticize government failures. When protesters demanding justice were shot by security forces, politically engaged Ghanaian hip hop artists refused silence, contributing to Ghana’s #FixTheCountry movement—the nation’s largest youth mobilization in a generation. Yet scholarly debates about how hip hop contributes to social change remain unresolved, divided between those celebrating its activist potential and those critiquing its limitations. This dissertation introduces the lottery ticket theory as an alternative framework for understanding cultural activism’s relationship to political transformation. Rather than asking whether hip …

Editorial: Jugar, Narrar, Habitar Mundos: Cuerpos Y Ficciones En La Cultura Contemporánea, Romano Ponce Díaz

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En este número del Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM (Vol. 4, núm. 2, Noviembre 2025- abril 2026) buscamos situarnos en ese cruce. En los artículos de investigación que aquí se exponen, se observa cómo los sistemas de juego, los universos narrativos, los performance, la mirada artística y las operaciones cognitivas intervienen en la configuración del concepto de sujeto, paisaje y comunidad. Estos artículos no son meras descripciones de objetos culturales; aquí se enuncian procedimientos metodológicos, contigencias operativas y aplicaciones eminentemente prácticas a campos de conocimientos transdisciplinarios.

Journal Of Roleplaying Studies And Steam (Jrpssteam) Vol. 4 [2025], Número 2 (Issue 2), Cristo Leon, Romano Ponce-Díaz Phd, Ivan Avila Gonzalez Phd, James Lipuma Dr., Bruce G. Bukiet, Ricardo Victoria-Uribe, Nazario Robles-Bastida, Chris Birmingham, Ximena Diaz Santillan, Edgar Francisco Vázquez Martínez He, Jorge Prieto Terrones, Juan Carlos C. González Vidal S, Edgar Meritano, Laura Magela Garcés Ramírez

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En una sesión de juego por medio del registro lingüístico se organiza la escena, se orienta la manera de nombrar las tareas, se distribuyen los roles actanciales, se establecen la expectativas; por lo tanto, se establece una puesta en escena. De tal forma, las prácticas lúdicas y ficcionales se configuran a partir de nuestra mirada del mundo e irremediablemente también reconfiguran esa misma mirada. El ser y el estar en un espacio es la especificidad mediática fundamental de los juegos de rol; dicho de otra manera, en los sistemas de juego de rol dentro de sus universos narrativos, en su …

Self-Handicapping In Purdue Honors Students, Amanda Colip, Colin O'Donnell, Triniti Jenkins

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Child Care For Student Parents: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Policy And Politics In Nys, Elizabeth M. Starks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This policy analysis dissertation explores the complex and multifaceted challenges that exist within New York State’s early childhood care and education (ECCE) system by critically examining the amendment of one NYS social services law. Guided by Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, this study examines two research questions (under one overarching question):

1. What language and arguments are effective in making change in Early Childhood policy in NYS?
   1. What is the policy discourse surrounding the amendment of subdivision 1 of section 410-w social services law in NYS?
   2. What is the political discourse surrounding the amendment of subdivision 1 of section 410-w social services …

The Consequences Of Fear: How Media Literacy Teachers Adapt To Teaching In An Autocratic Regime, Sait Tuzel

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

While media literacy education experienced significant growth in Turkey during the early part of the decade, since the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, Turkish educators have struggled with uncertainty and social mistrust generated by the disappearance of independent journalism and the arrests of many thousands of educators, judges, and researchers. This longitudinal study of media literacy teachers in Turkey examines the professional challenges that media literacy teachers experienced between 2015 and 2020 as they adapted to increased fear and the risks associated with teaching about media. Unable to use media materials beyond the state-sanctioned textbook, teachers now evaluate the …

Validation Of The Evaluating Nursing And Curriculum For Transformation Tool For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Curriculum Integration, Kendra M. Barrier, Mary Dioise Ramos

School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) emphasizes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as a foundational element for professional nursing education, crucial for preparing students to care for diverse patient populations. The purpose was to develop and validate an instrument to measure the extent to which DEI elements are integrated throughout the nursing curriculum. Methods: The ENACT (Evaluating Nursing and Curriculum for Transformation) was developed through a comprehensive process involving several phases: tool development based on DEI elements, framing each element within the Nursing Process (ADPIE), preliminary evaluation, obtaining content validity index (CVI) from experts, renaming the tool …

'The Rest Is Silence': Reframing Stasis As Integral To Creative Practice, Corinna Di Niro, Pablo Muslera

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This duoethnographic study examines the relationship between motion and stasis in creative practice through the lens of two creative educators working in postgraduate and undergraduate Creative Industries. Drawing on our combined experiences as practitioners and educators at SAE University College, we explore how creative blockages can be reframed as productive rather than problematic, challenging dominant productivity paradigms in contemporary creative industries and education. Through structured dialogic exchange, we investigate three interconnected themes: the rhythmic nature of creative practice, the pedagogical value of embracing productive stasis, and the tension between institutional timelines and creative development. We consider how encouraging SAE creative …

More Girls In The Classroom Improves Adolescent Mental Health, Monica Deza, Maria Zhu

Population Health Research Brief Series

Mental health challenges are common among adolescents in the United States. This brief summarizes findings from a study using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative survey of middle and high school students conducted in 1994-1995. The analysis included over 17,000 students from 133 schools across the United States. The authors find that the mix of boys and girls in a classroom affects adolescent mental health and school satisfaction. When classes have more girls, both boys and girls experience better mental health outcomes. Boys in classes with more female peers are 10% less …

Navigating The Terrain: Sense Of Belonging In Geology Field Camps, Ezra J. Hammersfeld

Master's Theses

Social success and feelings of belonging within academic settings play critical roles in students’ continued engagement. Students who feel like they belong are more likely to perform better academically, create feelings of academic self-efficacy, and be more satisfied with their educational experiences (Aelenei et al. 2020; Baker 2013; Chen et al. 2020; Hoffman et al. 2021; Rosenthal et al. 2013; Smerdon 2002; Walton et al. 2012). I examine sense of belonging through analysis of secondary data focused on college student experiences in geology field camps. I approached the study using modified grounded theory (Charmaz 2014) in order to best capture …

Grounded & Connected: Enhancing Mental Health Literacy And Resilience Among Transfer College Students, Alyson Morgan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many college transfer students experience poor mental health, including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation. Recent findings show that transfer students face unique stressors related to adjusting to a new campus environment and often struggle to access support services (Center on Transition Innovations, 2023). Although many students recognize the signs of deteriorating mental health in themselves, they may not know how to seek help or use healthy coping strategies. To address this need, I created an 80-minute workshop for transfer students at Modesto Junior College to address the lack of awareness of mental health struggles, the different stressors of …