This narrative study explores the experiences of five college students who were formerly involved with foster care. This study explores the ways former foster youth students tell stories of trust built or trust broken with adults before and during college. The data analysis revealed themes that add to the body of research by providing a clearer…

The purpose of this study was to serve to understand the conflict academic advisors who identify as mothers face while they provide advising services to their institution and student population while simultaneously also meeting their family demands. The conceptual framework of the study was developed using Biddle's (1970) role theory, specifically…

This qualitative study investigated staff retention in higher education by focusing on the retention of academic advisors. Academic advisors play an integral role in student success and advising is notably one of the fields in higher education with the greatest turnover. This turnover comes at great costs, financial and otherwise, for the…

Low financial literacy is a growing problem in young adults, which has effects throughout adulthood (Amagir et al., 2018). Record low personal savings rates, a shift toward increased personal responsibility for retirement, and increasing student loan balances put financial decision-making demands on young adults that have lifelong impacts (Lusardi…

This dissertation explores the use of place-based pedagogy as a tool for teaching for transfer in a college composition class in West Virginia. Although existing composition scholarship indicates that themed classes (such as a place-based class) are unlikely to facilitate transfer among the students, this is mostly due to instructors of themed…

As higher education tries to reimagine its value in the post-pandemic world, professional live-in staff members are fleeing from their positions at a higher rate than new professionals are entering the field. These professionals are expected to work through challenging issues, with minimal training, experiencing secondary trauma, while working in…

Purpose and Method of Study: This study aimed to determine variables or combinations of variables that impact the hope levels of tenth- to twelfth-grade students at a large urban public school in Oklahoma. While many factors influence students' hope, there is little information about the impact of HAE and PSC, in addition to the variables grade…

College aged students have one of the highest rates of suicidality, however, research on suicidality often negates the experiences of college students of color. The sample included 122,465 college students of color and explored the relationship between suicidality and variables such as academic distress, clinician initial assessment of…

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the factors influencing Mexican Migrant Farm Worker (MMFW) students' persistence in higher education. Twelve MMFW students from three Colorado universities were interviewed to understand the MMFW students' specific barriers and how they overcome obstacles to persist in their education. The study…

The migrant student population in the United States has significantly increased in the last few decades. While these students are enrolled in K-12 institutions, the challenges they face as migrant children and the educational systemic barriers they encounter continue to present obstacles for their college completion. Educational agencies must seek…

This dissertation investigates the role of ethnic-racial identity in the college choice and first-year experience of Black and Latinx students attending a highly selective, large, public R1 in the Midwest. My research questions are guided by Camille Wilson's (formerly Cooper) Positioned School Choice (2007) and Critical Race Theory through Yosso's…

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the lived experiences of queer undergraduate students as they interpreted and navigated various forms of support during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing measures. The global pandemic prompted institutions of higher education to transition to remote learning, disrupting…

This study explores students' and their families' experiences during the pandemic response to COVID-19 by the higher education community. Using the hermeneutic phenomenological approach, we employed two open-ended surveys and semi-structured interviews of 16 parent-college student dyads (N = 34). The study draws on students' and parents'…

Despite decades of research and policy efforts, socioeconomic disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States. In this dissertation, I examine these disparities, focusing on access to higher education during the later years and on academic achievement during elementary school. I explore the importance of family, neighborhood, and…

The problem addressed in this qualitative multi-case study was that high school and college students who transitioned to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced increased mental health issues due to the lack of social relationships caused by social isolation. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to examine high…