This dissertation study explores a voluntary preservice teacher led club, LEARN (pseudonym) focused on urban education. The club meetings varied consisting of approximately 10-15 Preservice Teacher (PST) members each session. Members were predominantly White newcomer and oldcomer participants that met regularly (twice a month) to engage in various…

This study sought to understand the perceptions of African American males enrolled in remedial education courses within two-year institutions. The researcher gathered information by interviewing ten African American male students at community colleges in southern urban locations. This qualitative research allowed the researcher to learn directly…

This dissertation explores, in three papers, the experiences of college readiness practitioners (CRPs), or practitioners that support college readiness in out of school time spaces. In the first paper, I argue for a relational approach to college readiness grounded in the key tenets of relational sociology. I explain why a relational perspective…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the academic experiences of low socioeconomic status ESL learners enrolled in a mid-sized urban community college located in Pennsylvania. The theory that guided this study is Walberg's theory on educational productivity, as it looks at how learners' psychological…

The current racial homogeny in the United States K-12 public school teacher workforce can be traced to the dismissal of Black teachers and administrators in the name of desegregation following the 1950s supreme court Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. The resulting raciodemographic mismatch persists today, and determinations about the…

Beginning teachers report that they are not prepared and reluctant to teach in an urban setting. New teachers struggle immensely during their first few years of teaching to the point where they transfer to a suburban school or leave the teaching profession altogether. The purpose of this study was to create a list of recommendations for teacher…

This case study served to investigate the current practices of career-planning advisement through the usage of degree maps as a tool at an urban university (New Jersey City University). The focus of the study involved the undergraduate STEM student community, which has historically faced high levels of attrition, with proper advisement and support…

Lower retention and graduation rates continue to persist among urban and Appalachian student cohorts. However, these two groups have historically been viewed as different and needing different supports to persist in their educational pursuits. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of, and integrational supports utilized by…

The purpose of this empirical investigation was to determine the predictable relationship between body type factors, socio-demographic factors, attitudes toward body factors, and the self-esteem scores of undergraduate college students. More specifically, the study was concerned with the predictability of body types, socio-demographics, and…

The purpose of this convergent mixed-methods study was to understand the extent to which inclusive practices were explicit in teacher residency curricula and the potential effects of four different urban teacher residency (UTR) programs on perceptions of teacher residents' self-efficacy for implementing inclusive practices in the general education…

This study examined how faculty and Resident Director (RD) staff collaborate with each other in a Faculty in Residence Program (FIR) at a mid-sized, urban, private, research university, located in the Northeast region of the United States. This study examined the experiences of these two distinct groups of participants, and ultimately how they…

Black and Latinx male students' college completion rates are much lower than their White male peers. Mentoring is essential as it helps to cultivate students' college aspirations, prepare them for a successful transition from high school to college, and connect them to academic and social supports once on campus. Mentoring programs are a useful…

The relationship between quantity of instructor to student interactions in online, asynchronous, course-specific courses at the community college level is under-researched. This quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between the weekly number of instructor-generated posts and two course outcomes within fully online history…

College and university admission testing requirements often serve as a barrier to many students seeking advanced degrees. Many graduate school admission boards/committees use the minimum testing requirement as a predictor variable to explain a student's chance for success in a program. Before the 2020 Fall semester, many graduate schools required…

This qualitative study applied a critical race theory lens to understand minoritized students' college readiness experiences at a highly selective research university to inform K-12 and higher education practice. The purpose of this study was to privilege oppressed voices in highlighting specific ways the college readiness gap can be closed for…