Retention rates of honors students in experiential learning programs have dropped in recent years as students left these programs at an unprecedented rate -- much to the dismay of administrators (Deka, 2020). Decreased year-to-year retention numbers affect the anticipated growth rates and sustainability of these programs. As current honors…

American youth face an acute crisis of belonging, marked by increasing alienation, anxiety, and absenteeism among students, that jeopardizes their educational experiences, mental health, and future success. Educators, policymakers, and community leaders are called upon to develop a strategic and comprehensive response. This brief contains…

Understanding how to foster belonging and ensure equitable engagement in STEM fields for diverse students is a critical need in education today. Despite substantial growth in the STEM workforce (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023; NSF, 2023a), there remain persistent gender and racial/ethnic gaps in students' access to advanced STEM education,…

This dissertation investigates the leadership experiences of African America women employed at historically White Christian colleges and universities. The study engages the narratives of African American women who are leaders within these institutions. The findings of the study illuminate intersectionality and the challenges the double-bind of…

This dissertation investigated predictors of scientific civic engagement among undergraduate students through a multimethod approach, focusing on how educational experiences shaped students' engagement with their communities using scientific skills. This multipart study addressed gaps in understanding how educational practices, identity, and sense…

Those who care about US public schools face urgent challenges while schools remain significant sites of racial inequity (Crenshaw, 2022; Darling-Hammond, 1998). School leaders play a crucial role in shaping educational in/equity for students (DeMatthews et al., 2020; Grissom et al., 2021; Khalifa, et al., 2016). Meanwhile, the increasing demands…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted students' educational experiences, raising concerns about their social and emotional development. This longitudinal quantitative study analyzed changes in student perceptions of social and emotional well-being using Panorama Education SEL survey data from Cohort 2023 12th graders at an urban intensive high school…

Educators are continuously exploring ways to enhance the academic potential of students while fostering a positive social atmosphere within classrooms. To meet these various curricular and interpersonal objectives, teachers are increasingly utilising educational storification in order to engage students and positively support their social…

Cultivating a sense of belonging can be challenging in online contexts as well as for underrepresented students in engineering education. This study used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to understand underrepresented students' experiences in a Canadian first-year course. Taking place during remote delivery due to COVID-19, we…

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore how Black male teachers perceive their tokenization experiences in urban school environments in the Southwest United States. The theoretical foundation of the study is Kanter's Theory of Tokenism. A sample of 31 Black male teachers working in urban school environments were recruited to answer two…

Handicapped, special, or diverse? Segregated, mainstreamed, or included? The field of disability and difference within education, is vast and wide-ranging. This review of the literature highlights how, although we have come far in the last 40 years, there is still much to learn about effective inclusion of disabled children in early childhood…

This mixed-methods phenomenological action research study was conducted to mine meaning from the lived experiences of student-participants and a teacher-researcher engaged in Teaching as Producing™ (TAP). TAP is a novel pedagogical approach rooted in John Dewey's Theory of Experience. It aligns with experience-based learning models like…

The 2020 U.S. census revealed that Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) populations are among the fastest growing in the nation, with 24 million Asian American and 1.6 million NHPI residents. Despite a long history of anti-Asian sentiment and racism in the U.S., Asian American and NHPI students have been harmfully…