This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

Black women in higher education are situated in a hegemonic, white, patriarchal context of academia. Despite staff and faculty attempts to support students utilizing foundational theories of student development, these efforts still reinforce controlling stereotypes of Black women and (re)subjugate them to a tumultuous existence in the academy as…

There is a broad disconnect between the beauty cultivated by disabled communities and the ways in which schools continue to position disability as a problem that resides in the individual student. To shift conceptions of disability in schools, there is a significant need to educate folks about disability history and pride, especially disabled…

This study aims to understand how women's voices can be empowered in a high school English Language Arts (ELA) class. Through the use of female authors and female protagonists in the classroom texts, this study seeks to understand if implementing female-driven texts enhances female students' literary experiences, empowers the personal identities…

This qualitative descriptive study explored how undergraduate dance students describe somatic experiences in dance technique classes and their influence on their critical thinking, feelings of empowerment, and dance technique at a private southwest university. The theoretical foundation for the study was critical pedagogy. Using critical pedagogy,…

My study documents the formation and impact of the student-led movement of Black Lives Matter in Higher Education (BLMHE) that is housed within Teachers College Higher and Postsecondary Education Program (HPSE). This group consists of HPSE students and faculty that have come together to analyze the effects of systemic societal forces on members of…

Personalized learning is gaining popularity among educational leaders due to reexamining teaching and learning the pedagogy by increasing student ownership. However, the implementation of personalized learning is limited, even after professional development opportunities. The problem addressed in this study was the inconsistency in the content and…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how the application of the community cultural wealth model can help raise the capacity of first-generation Latino at-promise youth towards finding greater educational success in a secondary school setting. Participants included first generation Latino at-promise students and their parents…

In today's education context, not all young people are able to complete their high school education. In fact, in 2016, the number of low-income young people ages 16 to 24 years who did not complete high school or were not enrolled in high school was 3.7 times higher than those of high-income families (McFarland et al., 2018). This may be due to…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the key elements of success in the Bonner Service Leaders program--a four-year leadership and community engagement program on my campus--and how to leverage the key elements of success in Bonner to increase student achievement in the program. In the first research cycle, I interviewed…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how elementary teachers thought processes manifested in their teaching praxis. This exploration was conducted around their experiences in a professional learning community centered on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). As a practitioner scholar, I utilized Seidman's (2019) in-depth…

This dissertation explores innovative approaches to preserving and revitalizing the linguistic and cultural heritage of Mayan-speaking youth of Guatemalan descent in rural Nebraska. It delves into the intersection of technology, artistic expression, and cultural practices, emphasizing the revitalization of Mayan languages in Abya Yala (the…

Given the significance of school leaders and leadership to teaching, learning, and student success, research on school principal leadership has expanded from its foundations in Western Anglo-American nations to international, diverse, and historically marginalized contexts. However, an enduring critique and limitation of the educational leadership…

Too often educators are unable or unwilling to see the potential Black males have as students, and often view these young men as inhuman or uneducable. More specifically, teachers often ignore or underestimate that Black males experience education in a manner unlike their peers due to the historical construction of what it means to be a Black…

STEM education has created successful educational outcomes and job opportunities in the United States. Despite the benefits to STEM education, Latinx students have a low STEM degree completion and are considered underrepresented. As a result, institutions are focusing on providing equal opportunities and increasing retention rates to minorities.…