The aim of this dissertation was to analyze efforts at the time of this study to vertically align curricula between secondary and post-secondary institutions and then analyze how much needs to be done to close the gap in curricular and performance expectations as students transition to higher education. To narrow the focus, this dissertation…

Students bring cultural and linguistic richness to the English Language Arts classroom in the form of English language diversity; that being said, English Language Arts (ELA) education has traditionally privileged Standard American English (*SAE) and its related white culture rather than embrace the aforementioned diversity. With calls for more…

Higher education persistence and retention rates have been scrutinized more than ever before, at both the state and national levels. Student success and completion rates are central to funding formulas, and this is specifically true for community colleges in Texas. This study examined the role of library instruction on community college student…

What has it meant to produce knowledge and to teach at the intersection of English literature and Black Studies? This dissertation asks after the history and function of Black literary studies as it emerged as an academic discipline in the late 20th century U.S. academy. I propose that Black literary studies' institutional knowledge project is…

This research study focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of improvement efforts made for ENG 111 online courses at Brunswick Community College (BCC). The primary goal is to enhance student satisfaction, increase course completion rates, and improve course success rates. The study assesses the strategic redesign of ENG 111 courses and aims to…

This dissertation was a study of the efficacy of incorporating a creative writing-based curriculum into English Composition I courses. The goal of this study was to determine whether students learning with this style of curriculum could meet the student learning outcomes and master the core competencies for this course as effectively as students…

This three-article dissertation examines the role of comics as a medium for developing anti-oppressive pedagogies with teacher educators and teacher candidates in English language Arts (ELA) and literacy education. Using methods of critical content analysis (Johnson et al, 2016), descriptive qualitative research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), and…

This dissertation studied the social and emotional learning competencies found within the Caldecott Medal Award winning texts from 1994 through 2019. Social and emotional learning took root in the 1990s and is now part of mainstream culture in schools across the United States. Research has been completed on the effects of social and emotional…

The COVID pandemic caused changes in education of which we may never know or understand all its repercussions to the public education system. One group of vulnerable students, newcomers from Guatemala and Honduras with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE), were negatively affected. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one SLIFE program sent…

The purpose of this study was to gauge the effects of offering LGBTQIA+ novels to students in an English Language Arts and Reading high school setting. Most novel options for students come from old books available in the school's book closet consisting of antiquated stories offering little in the way of diversity. Students are more likely to be…

This study aimed to determine the perspectives of Louisiana high school students, particularly Black students, on the diversity of the state-mandated Tier 1 English I curriculum and the correlation between their academic self-concept, curriculum diversity perceptions, and their achievement level on the LEAP 2025 English I high stakes assessment.…

Students in Title 1 school districts continue to fall far behind their peers academically in comparison to neighboring suburban districts. School reform has unsuccessfully attempted to improve test scores by consistently changing reading curriculums and mandating the use of various resources that fail when implemented. Struggling school districts…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the perceived status of adjunct faculty and improve their sense of belonging and organizational inclusion in a community college English department. Adjunct faculty are the majority in public two-year campuses, yet they are not fully included in college activities or organizational…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of selected demographic factors on the academic achievement of high school students. More specifically, this study was concerned with the effects of the variables gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores in Mathematics,…

In light of an increased focus on the importance of soft skills to academic achievement and success later in life, educators are looking towards social-emotional learning (SEL) as a means for addressing the diverse needs of students. This qualitative study was aimed at understanding how secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers use literary…