Being uncomfortable by choice as a means of personal growth has been touted for hundreds of years among scholars, philosophers, religious leaders, modern pop culture icons, and more. Yet, research pertaining to the benefits of being uncomfortable by choice is sparse. This qualitative, grounded theory study addressed the first step of…

Purpose: There is a documented disparity in the number of Latino physicians in the U.S., especially in states with a large Latino population like California. In this study, the researcher explores the lived experiences of qualified, motivated Latino students enrolled at medical schools in California to better understand their perceptions of…

There are over 13,000 local school boards in the United States, yet there is little research on these institutions of local government--particularly from a qualitative perspective. This dissertation uses constructivist grounded theory methodology and data from 26 interviews with local school board members in Tennessee to develop three categories…

The demand for colleges across the world to convert their courses to an online format has increased with the number of learners enrolled in at least one online course increasing each year (Seaman et al., 2018). Unfortunately, a study by Garris & Fleck (2020) found that many students complained that when their courses transitioned to an online…

School counselors, as career counselors, play an important role in the career development of K-12 students. However, there is a significant research gap in understanding the unique role of elementary school counselors in addressing the career development of younger African American students and their contribution to creating opportunities and…

Diversity and inclusion are well regarded as beneficial and advantageous for communities, organizations, institutions, and societies. Equity or fairness is commonly understood as necessary for democracy. Public perception about what institutions can and should be doing to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, (DEI), continues to change as…

Culturally responsive community-school partnerships can help support students' well-being, and the facilitators, barriers, and benefits of community-school partnerships in Indigenous communities may be unique due to historic and contemporary sociopolitical influences. The aims of the current study were to explore facilitators, barriers, and…

Providing professional development on followership provides followers and leaders with expectations of work and social engagements and adds value of being a follower through education and professional credentials. The problem examined in this study was the negative stigma associated with the terms of "follower" and…

The problem is staff fear being involved in the next campus shooting, which has pushed campus safety experts to update safety policies and procedures. One of the policies being addressed is the option of allowing concealed carry on campus (CCOC). However, allowing CCOC makes some staff feel less safe. The purpose of this causal-comparative study…

The purpose of this study was to create a theory about how college students cope with stress. This study used classic grounded theory to develop the theory of discovering adulthood, which is grounded in the data. Classic grounded theory was chosen because it allows the subject matter to be approached without preconception. The nature of classic…

The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory of the process of mission-based leadership development over the career lifecycle of faculty, staff, and administration in Catholic higher education. Using constructivist grounded theory, interviews were conducted at three Catholic higher education institutions with professionals at various…

Scholars in the field of Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy have called for more work on the intersections of race and technologies (Banks, 2006, 2011; Gilyard & Banks, 2018; Haas, 2018; A. H. Powell, 2007). There is a particular need for research on how Black Americans engage with digital technologies beyond school settings. This project…

The growing number of literature on the experiences of international graduate students (Interiano & Lim, 2018; Joshi et al., 2021; Lertora & Croffie, 2019; Seyeneh, 2018; Woo et al., 2015) have not only highlighted the emergence of 'Internationalism' within the profession of counseling and counselor education, it has also shed light on…

Tuition-dependent higher education institutions face myriad external and internal challenges, including waning public confidence, demographic shifts, systemic sluggishness, and reduced workforces. Research on higher education administration tends to focus on senior-level leaders, with the operational experience of rank-and-file administrators…

The purpose of this narrative qualitative study was to explore how politics affects the ethical decision-making processes of elementary principals. Participants were comprised of five elementary school principals, with varied years of experience, across neighboring suburban public school districts in eastern New York. Data was collected through…