The professional development process for counselors begins during their formal training and extends throughout their careers. Reflective thinking is closely connected with ongoing professional development. When counselors reflect on their experiences, they can generate new insights to shape future practice. Feedback is another important tool for…

To meet an increasingly complex set of global challenges, undergraduate programs need innovative, well aligned curricula that prepare students to effectively address those challenges. This is especially true in programs such as sustainable food systems education (SFSE) where students learn to think systemically, critically, and reflectively, and…

Teacher effectiveness is recognized as the most prominent in-school influencer of student learning, and professional development (PD) of in-service educators is seen as vital to improving teachers' effectiveness throughout their careers. Professional development is often studied atheoretically and with a linear view in which PD providers deliver…

Engaging recent points of discussion within academia and practitioner research focused on access/ibility in the cybersecurity workplace, this dissertation examines the impacts of National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) cybersecurity workforce frameworks on people and communities within the field of cybersecurity. The emerging era in…

Multicultural music education and diversity in the elementary general music classroom continue to lie at the center of music education discourse seeking to decolonize elementary general music programs. There are many non-canonical music teaching resources available to 21st-century music educators, however, little is known about the presence of…

This dissertation in practice (DiP) was conducted to address the absence of a district-coordinated effort aligning Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and real-world project-based learning (PBL) with intentional community partnerships in Anaya Independent School District (ISD). The study aimed to develop a community outreach framework that can be…

The problem addressed by this qualitative case study is that many principals do not understand special education law and policy after completing administrator programs, which may affect their ability to conduct proper or effective implementation of special education law, policy, and instruction. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to…

Students in higher education require the skills and knowledge to creatively solve some of the pressing social, economic, and environmental issues confronting humanity. In 2015, the United Nations and its member states developed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address complex global issues and systemic barriers to achieving sustainable…

Adjunct faculty members are a predominant resource used to instruct at higher education institutions. Because of this, there are constant questions about the ability of adjunct faculty members to instruct on the same level as full-time and tenure-track faculty members. This becomes a question of whether or not adjunct faculty members are provided…

The purpose of this study is to explore special education teacher and teacher educator perceptions of the Standard Outcome Lesson and Reflection (SOLAR) Guide. Even though research shows that special education teachers need the skill of curriculum mapping in their roles in the classroom, a dearth of research has identified effective ways to help…

In 2020, the world was forced to adjust to a new normal with the global pandemic. Every nation had to make difficult decisions to protect citizens and save their economy. Leaders of all institutions had to strategize quickly for an unknown future. Many institutions suffered, including education. Social-emotional learning addresses students'…

Despite the significance of mentorship programs, there are few existing accounts of experiences regarding mentorship from counseling graduate students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, especially as it relates to access and personal and professional development. Such accounts are vital in understanding barriers that impede…

Low financial literacy is a growing problem in young adults, which has effects throughout adulthood (Amagir et al., 2018). Record low personal savings rates, a shift toward increased personal responsibility for retirement, and increasing student loan balances put financial decision-making demands on young adults that have lifelong impacts (Lusardi…

This dissertation explores the perceptions and understandings of K-6 general education teachers regarding their role in intentionally developing students' emotional competencies. This research builds upon that which establishes the vitality of developed emotional competencies by including the perceptions of teachers who have been tasked with…

In higher education, teacher empathy is a term that refers to the empathetic skills of teachers and has been researched since the 1980s. Multiple studies in fields such as medicine, nursing and psychology have shown that teacher empathy has reduced teacher burnout, improved teacher satisfaction and student performance. Within engineering…