In Massachusetts and across the nation, the percentage of community college students who attend part-time averages more than 60% (Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 2023; AACC, 2023). Additionally, approximately 80% of students have been enrolled part-time for some of their time in community college (CCSSE, 2018). However, despite their…

Higher Education and its evolution in the twentieth century has seen a paradigm shift and an increased focus on the disconnect of the classroom with the employment field and market. Higher education has been presented with the challenge of not only understanding how one behaves and adapts to transitions but the approach and how to analyze a change…

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of teachers with respect to the professional development received on culturally responsive teaching and their perspectives on the influence this professional learning has had on teacher pedagogical development and student performance. The 30 licensed teachers in Massachusetts…

This qualitative case study examined the roles autonomy played in how principals in one Massachusetts district learned to prioritize curricular goals and to support instruction during a time of crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. A Communities of Practice (CoP) theory and the concepts of boundaries and brokering served as a theoretical framework to…

This research study focused on the potential factors impacting students with disabilities (SWDs) course placement and graduation rates at Simmons High School (SHS), a large urban school in Massachusetts. Preliminary research found that approximately 50% of SWDs graduate each school year at SHS and are historically marginalized compared to their…

Problem and Purpose: Without time for preparation, COVID-19 caused a wave of operational and structural changes that encumbered much of the time and energy educational leaders previously spent on moving the district forward. The ripple effect of the pandemic exposed new challenges in teaching and learning, requiring superintendents and principals…

Despite impressive statistics related to community college transfer student achievement, negative perceptions and stigma attached to attending community college persist. The problem addressed by this phenomenological study is the community college stigma experience for transfer students attending the most highly-ranked public university in…

This action research takes place at a small, New England public school system in Hopkinton, MA, and was designed to build the capacity of educators by utilizing a cycle of inquiry to improve Data-Driven Decision Making. The action steps of this study established a building-based Student Learning Team at Hopkinton Middle School which, in…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent of success and the challenges faced by community college presidents in creating an entrepreneurial culture. Fourteen American community colleges, identified by Roueche and Jones (2005), were surveyed for this study. These fourteen community colleges are located in Texas, Florida,…

What role does an enrollment system play in providing every child in the United States with a high-quality education? Integration and school choice literature highlight the saliency of the topic (Ben-Porath, 2012; Orfield and Frankenberg, 2013; Ryan, 2010; Viteritti, 2010). This capstone is designed to address how an increasingly diverse school…

As part of its ongoing effort to fulfill the expectations of Massachusetts' Vision Project Agenda for its public colleges and universities, Northeast Community College collaborated with the non-profit organization, Complete College America, to develop the Academic Pathways. The Academic Pathways [or APs] are a pre-determined block of first…

This historical case-study examines the evolution of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium during its "community engagement period" from 2004 to 2008, which coincided with the formation of the Worcester UniverCity Partnership, a broad attempt to bring the colleges in Worcester, the City, the business community, and the neighborhoods into…

This study set out to explore how five principals experienced collective teacher efficacy in their schools. The uniqueness of this study was the context of collective teacher efficacy in urban turnaround schools. Each school in the study was once considered among the lowest performing schools in Massachusetts, with persistent low student…

The purpose of this study was collect and analyze the perceptions of special education directors who attended a state funded Leadership Academy for new Special Education Directors in Massachusetts. The participants were member of the Accept Collaborative Leadership Academy (ACLA) cohorts 9 (2012) & 10 (2013). The two research questions for…

Most postsecondary American Sign Language programs have an inherent connection to their local Deaf communities and rely on the community's events to provide authentic linguistic and cultural experiences for their students. While this type of activity benefits students, there is often little effort toward meaningful engagement or attention to…