The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles faced and strategies used to overcome those obstacles by undergraduate teacher education majors who began their coursework at a community college and completed an Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree in teacher education. In this study, the questions asked of the participants touched on…

The term, helicopter parenting, was coined to describe how the parents of the children born in the millennium generation are involved in every aspect of their children's lives in developmentally inappropriate ways, especially in educational settings like colleges and universities. The research on the helicopter parenting phenomenon indicates that…

As international student attendance on college campuses in the US continues to increase in record numbers, International Student Services (ISS) offices across the country are tasked with providing services to aid the growing number and variety of sojourners in their transition to life on campus in the United States. This dissertation is a…

Adult learners and first-generation learners, as separate groups, have been matriculating in increasing numbers at colleges and universities over the last few decades. Research indicates that enrollment trends for these two groups are likely to continue to increase in the near future, with a growing number of students being dually classified as…

With the number of international students at American universities increasing, it is imperative to understand their needs and to identify potential disabilities or challenges, in spite of cultural variations. In response, the goal of this thesis was to explore if there was a difference in how American students versus Middle Eastern (ME) students…

Success in college is topic that is continually debated and contested, specifically, with respect to identifying how it is defined, operationalized, and fostered. The first-year experience is a phrase used to describe the intricacies and associated issues of being a first-year student in college. This study addressed the limited research and…

Theory and research suggest that students of color examine and engage in meaning-making regarding their ethnic identity throughout college. The different pathways Latino college students undertake to develop their ethnic identities, however, are less studied. The role of higher education in these processes is also unclear. Thus, the first research…

This phenomenological inquiry explored the relationship between prior military service and identity development in women veteran students. Interpretive phenomenology and intersectionality served as theoretical lenses for understanding the lived experiences of participants transitioning from the military, in which they were service women, to campus…

The literature review in this doctoral project addresses secondary school transition. The definition of secondary school transition is defined, and the literature review goes over the disproportionate outcomes in post-secondary education and employment when special education students and general education students are compared. Current research is…

College persistence and completion rates for students from families earning low incomes are consistently lower than for students from wealthy families. Some of these inequitable gaps may be associated with students' perceptions of fit and belonging at higher education institutions dominated by upper-middle-class systems and norms. This…

This study examined the experience of relocating to the United States for a select group of students, third culture kids (TCKs), so the factors that may assist higher education professionals as they seek to support these students in their personal development through their college years would be understood. The research question used to drive the…

Institutions of higher education must include policy-informing research into their long-term retention planning to improve institutional practices regarding student support and persistence (Bean, 2001; Kuh, 2006; Brown, 2015). This information is needed to make institutions of higher education aware of how student characteristics interact with the…

This study examines the effects of an approach to professional development known as the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success (SEALS) framework. The intervention was designed to support teachers in improving the academic, social, and behavioral adjustment of middle school students in diverse classrooms. Online core and…

The existing literature has much to offer regarding the adjustment issues of international students. English proficiency and social support appear to be the biggest factors affecting the social, academic, and cultural adjustment of international students. Psychology graduate programs can exacerbate these challenges due to strenuous workload,…

Well-being is essential to promote students' development. The present research investigated the association between life events, perceived stress, smartphone dependency, coping behaviors, and psychological well-being. This cross-sectional study employed convenience sampling, and the sample consisted of 303 undergraduates at one public university…