The cause of African countries' perennial low-income status and failure to achieve lasting social transformation has proven to be a consistently vexing puzzle. This dissertation was an exploration of a conceptual framework that addressed this important query. The framework was informed by existing literature, including works on the ideas of social…

This dissertation seeks to introduce financial modernization as a distinct subcategory of modernization and present practical applications for sport managers. Modernization literature has shown that, as society advances, levels of complexity increase. Modernization is generally concerned about the impact of technology, transportation, financial…

It is a tradition at many institutions of higher education to develop civic-mindedness in their students, and they use a number of strategies to do it. As the world has become more globalized, the sense of community that is inherent in civic engagement also has expanded. Global citizenship has roots in civic engagement and describes people who…

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this…

Expressions of criticism have plagued historically black college and university (HBCU) presidents' leadership practices since the 1970s. Unstable leadership at these institutions could threaten their existence. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore how HBCU presidents develop new facets of their leadership…

Although the majority of scientists agree that we are facing unprecedented climate crises, higher education's engagement with environmental and sustainability problems is lacking. While the role of human behavior on climate change has been well established by science, these insights have yet to be adequately applied by citizens, thus exacerbating…

This dissertation explores the transformational paradigm shift in spiritually stagnated leaders of Korean-American immigrant churches. It addresses the issue of spiritual stagnation, which affects 25% of Christians in over 2,500 churches, leading to burnout and emptiness. The Korean-American church's collectivistic, hierarchical, and high-context…

This dissertation study called Young Adults Acting On the World (YAAOW), addresses the injustices of withheld opportunities for critical literacy engagement and the marginalization of refugee-background students through a qualitative experiment of a critical, collaborative project, patterned after social design-based experimentation (Gutierrez,…

There are high rates of disciplinary issues present in urban elementary schools in the United States, and school administrators need more effective strategies for improvement. Researchers have found that exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions are often overused, have questionable efficacy, and disproportionately affect…

The professional experience of K12 teachers in the United States is marked by transformation. The K12 classroom has been a consistent presence in the history of the U.S., with the specifics of the teacher's role regularly transforming over time. With the spread of the internet and the increasing ubiquity of web-enabled digital devices (e.g.,…

The problem is that secondary school students within an education system in a small island Caribbean state are not performing at the required academic standard. The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of the Ministry of Education and Public Service Commission regarding the recruitment and selection of prospective principals with…

Teacher attrition is a debilitating problem that plagues education, contributes to the teacher shortage, and challenges administrators to staff schools with qualified teachers. The high teacher attrition rates in rural schools in the southeastern United States were the fundamental problem addressed in this qualitative case study. This qualitative…

School principals play an instrumental role in the day-to-day running of schools, and their roles become more critical at times of education reform. The Saudi Ministry of Education (MoE) has been working towards a more decentralized system, whereby school principals have more autonomy. Under the Development Project (Tatweer) launched in 2007,…

Educators, parents, and researchers uphold that intentional social emotional learning (SEL) can positively benefit student well-being, especially when the learning is integrated into all educational content areas. The problem under study was that though research has highlighted the connection between SEL and visual art education, how teachers…

This study explored the school principal selection process in Cameroon where the political appointment of school principals with no plan for formal training was practiced. The purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to explore and describe school principal perceptions of leader behaviors in urban Cameroon schools. Goldring's…