For decades, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) has blatantly disregarded and ostracized Black caregivers and community members who have attempted to address concerns about the educational experience of Black students. The only moderately successful strategy was political activism led by Dr. Barbara Sizemore in the 1970s to secure a board majority,…

Many historically underrepresented students enroll in online classes because they need the flexibility to balance work, family, and coursework (Phirangee et al., 2016). However, community college students are less successful in online classes than they are in face-to-face classes (Xu & Jaggars, 2014). Feelings of isolation and disconnectedness…

Teachers who work at small schools often do not have colleagues at their workplace who teach the same content area and therefore cannot benefit from the professional growth that comes with having same-subject colleagues in one's workplace. The purpose of this study was to see if participating in a teacher Facebook group as a Virtual Community of…

Alumni demographics are rapidly changing, and alumni associations are looking for new ways to increase alumni engagement. Using Lewin's (1947) organizational change theory and Homans's (1958) social exchange theory, this study examines two Research 1 institutions in a comparative case study. By comparing the experiences of two institutions, alumni…

Burnout has become prevalent in various professional domains, including the field of education. Principals, at the forefront of educational institutions, face immense pressure and responsibilities. Recognizing the importance of addressing burnout, the aim of this study was to contribute to the existing body of research regarding burnout and the…

Community colleges educate nearly 50% of students who complete a degree at a four-year university. Yet, California community college funding remains lower than per student funding for the UC, CSU, and K-12 systems. Community college non-profit 501(c)3 foundations provide the opportunity to generate millions in support of their colleges, and yet…

Over the past 50 years physics education research (PER) has grown into a thriving subdiscipline of physics. PER grew out of a desire to approach education research and development from a disciplinary perspective, operating under the assumption that good physics education is deeply rooted in the disciplinary knowledge and practices of physicists.…

The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge on the value of professional communities of practice as a performance improvement intervention. Value was defined as the awareness of the benefits and outcomes, provided as improvement in a tangible or intangible way, that positively impact organizations and/or individuals and their personal…

Explicit instruction in the academic language of disciplines is considered a major component of effective literacy development for adolescents (National Governors Association, 2010) and has become one of the standards in all disciplines. States have mandated that schools adopt teacher evaluation models and professional learning community (PLCs)…

This dissertation presents a phenomenological case study exploring the experiences of Black women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The study focuses on Black women who attended urban schools and pursued STEM majors at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). This study employs a narrative inquiry approach to understand…

In 2009, a major metropolitan urban school district in Southeastern Michigan, under state emergency management, implemented a massive school restructuring plan affecting 100+ elementary, middle, and high schools. The consequences of the plan included a high turnover rate of staff and students, violence at local school campuses, low morale among…

At the college-level, instructors are experts in their own subject matter, but often have less knowledge of the theory and practice of successful teaching models and techniques for enhancing student learning and engagement (Burns, 2017). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has developed as a practice that supports inquiry and…

The Appalachian region is a rural swath of mountainous terrain home to a historically distinct culture. The region's population suffers from a multitude of health issues and disparities. Notably, the region also experiences a major healthcare provider shortage despite the fact that states, like West Virginia, produce per capita, a high volume of…

Project-based (PBL) learning has been found to improve student achievement, engagement, and interpersonal and intrapersonal skills; however, it is not widely implemented in K-12 schools in the United States. Prior research has established several barriers and challenges to implementing PBL in K-12 schools including challenges related to teacher…

Some professional learning communities (PLC) are successful, and others are unsuccessful leading to questions about which characteristics of a group of people are important to the success of the community. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the factors contributing to the presence of a community of practice between…