This qualitative case study delved into professional development's influence on job satisfaction among classified staff in California's community colleges. The study examined a convenience sample of 20 full-time classified staff who had worked for at least 1 year at a community college in California and had participated in a professional…

The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 spurred a period of worldwide civil unrest. His death also catalyzed a phase of organizational reckoning and reflection on the pervasiveness of racism, which continues to exist in and influence societal systems. This study aimed to shed light on the budgeting ecosystem at a flagship, public, 4-year university…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how the staff of campus-based programs that support foster youth describe the program interventions as they influence student competency, autonomy, and relatedness at a community college. This study employed the self-determination theory (SDT) as a lens to better understand the needs…

This qualitative study seeks to illuminate the leadership stories of classified staff who participated in prototype leadership development courses in a Southern California school district. Interviews with eight participants revealed that leadership development impacts classified employees' perceptions of leadership, but few support staff members…

My research inquiry is centered on the larger project of building a transformational, empowerment model of worker voice in workplaces. The purpose of my research is to explore/illuminate the question, "How can I use workers' stories to center and advance collaborative worker voice on the job through peer-driven training initiatives?" I…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine differences in five components of technostress across three employee groups (Faculty, Administrators, and Staff) in U.S. higher education. Jena and Mahanti's technostress-demographic model provided the theoretical framework for this study. The five components of technostress…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to understand the workplace experiences of African/African diaspora/African American/Black (A/Ad/AA/B) women employed with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) responsibilities in the California community college system during a time of new equity funding and contemporary social…

This study sought to understand Latinx student servingness through the lens of Latinx student affairs employees working at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Interviews were conducted with 20 student affairs employees, all except one worked at a Cal State campus. The interview protocol was developed using the Hispanic Serving Institution conceptual…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of Latinx first-generation professionals within Student Affairs at a University of California campus. It focused on institutional norms and their influences on the self-efficacy of Latinx first-generation professionals as they navigated their university work environments. This study utilized…

Hundreds of community colleges are attempting transformational pathway reform, also known as guided pathways, to improve student outcomes. This qualitative case study explored sensemaking and organizational learning, early processes of transformational change, among administrators, faculty, and staff implementing pathway reform in a California…

In August 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that all schools would be on distance learning if their county COVID-19 cases were too high. However, one district, Lucerne Valley Unified, wanted to get their elementary students back to in-person instruction and not experience a considerable amount of learning loss. So, the district…

The COVID-19 global pandemic had far-ranging consequences for California State University higher education union staff members' mental health and well-being. Research had not yet examined the impact of the pandemic on the California State University system's union front line higher education staff members. The aim of this study was to identify the…

The study focused on institutional efforts to retain and support racially minoritized students in higher education. The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of faculty and staff implementing California Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705), a legislative mandate intended to increase student achievement and close equity gaps among Black and…

In U.S. school districts, African American special-education students are disciplined more heavily than other students. This case study examined how a suburban high school district in Southern California addressed disproportionality and significant disproportionality in the discipline of African American students with disabilities. The study…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess staff perceptions of four U.S.-Saudi Diplomatic Corps, the embassy in Washington, DC, and the three consulates in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles regarding the implementation of virtual teams. This study applied the adaptive structuration theory (AST). AST explains how teams develop in a given…