Studies indicate that school-community partnerships have positive impacts on the learners and reducing the educational achievement gap is one of the identified benefits. This study sought to examine the development of educational partnerships from the perspective of the teachers. The researcher assumed that teachers play a significant role in the…

This dissertation in practice documents the program evaluation of the Community Scholars (CS) program at the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at the University of South Florida (USF). CS is part of a diversity pipeline program that recruits youth with…

Community colleges serve as crucial gateways to social and economic prosperity for millions of Americans, providing opportunities for career stability and social advancement. The success of this educational pathway hinges on the seamless alignment of a college's mission and goals, creating an environment conducive to faculty excellence in…

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the perceived effectiveness of a restructured developmental education program at one campus of a large, multi-campus community college in North Texas. The restructuring process was guided by the mandates of Texas House Bill 2223 passed in 2017. One of the components of the bill allowed…

At a community college in the state of Florida, student retention has become a critical concern because more than half of the first-year first-generation students fail to graduate. That rate is four times higher than for other first-year students. Guided by Tinto's Student Integration Model as the conceptual framework, this intrinsic qualitative…

The COVID-19 pandemic was a unique phenomenon that significantly impacted higher education. Programmatic grants were an important source of funding at community colleges during this unusual time, helping to provide vital resources and support services to institutions and their students. This study is one of the first of its kind to explore the…

In this qualitative grounded theory study, I interviewed participants from and analyzed documents associated with three community/state colleges in Florida. Additionally, I have included the perspective of key informants from the state and/or the Florida College System. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to develop a…

This qualitative, thematic analysis explores the emergent themes related to community college professors' experiences adopting and using technology during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews included semi-structured questions (i.e., closed- and open-ended) to elicit themes related to the professors' adoption and use of…

This qualitative study will explore how MSW faculty describe a community in online courses and what strategies they use in fostering a sense of community within courses from an online Master of Social Work program at the University of South Florida. There is an imperative need to ensure online courses provide a sense of community to support…

Across the United States a significant number of individuals find themselves incarcerated each year. For the state of Florida, this number represents one of the highest in the country (Carson, 2021). Prior research has indicated that incarcerated populations across the country tend to have a lower literacy level and less education experience than…

Writing is an essential life skill. It is a critical area of literacy instruction and high-stakes assessments. However, emphasis on writing instruction and assessment has not correlated with widespread writing proficiency. Within this context, teachers experience the phenomenon of writing instructional leadership. Teachers' preparation as writers…

Community College Written Communication 1 (ENC) instructors encounter complex challenges when attempting to teach writing skills to diverse student populations. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the perceptions of full-time community college ENC faculty and determine the instructional strategies they use to…

In 1899, in Eatonville, Florida, Russell and Mary Calhoun, two African American teachers from Tuskegee Institute, founded the Robert Hungerford School for African American students. Many White southerners were ferociously against African American education. However, the Calhouns were able to galvanize resources and support from white donors to…

College retention is a topic of concern for many leaders of post-secondary institutions. This study explores the multifaceted elements of a summer bridge program aimed at bolstering college retention for minority first-generation students through a combination of mentorship, academic support, and community-building initiatives. The purpose of the…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship of age, gender, ethnicity, military experience, educational level, and the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (CJBAT) score of recruits to discern if those factors are valid predictors of student success in a community college law enforcement academy. The relationship…