Focalization is such an intrinsic component of narrative that readers are often unaware of its effect. With internal focalization, an actor within the story narrates the events from their vantage point, flavoring the story with their perspective. While extant research demonstrates that many features of narrative structure influence how readers…

The present investigation aims to identify best practices to design virtual reality (VR) story-worlds to promote prejudice reduction and foster prosocial attitudes toward under-represented groups. Past research shows that VR, which allows the simulation of scenarios that would otherwise be prohibitively difficult or impossible in real life, can be…

Public schools in America are experiencing a massive decline in student enrollment, resulting in school consolidations and closures across the nation. (Dee, 2023). This decline has many implications, particularly in rural areas, such as Northeast Tennessee. These implications and the public pressure to maintain high graduation rates and academic…

Undergraduate students throughout the United States are tasked with making many large and small decisions, frequently for the first time. To their detriment, undergraduate students are, often times, removed from familiar surroundings which may have provided much-needed support for these emerging adults. Across university parishes, Catholic student…

Recognizing the significance of soft skills in workplace success, some organizations have implemented strategies such as internships, conferences, and workplace coaching to aid employees in developing these skills. Given that Generation Z employees are now entering the workforce in greater numbers, it becomes imperative to employ methods that…

Leadership development is a multi-billion-dollar industry with a strong focus on learning through experiences, yet most experiential leadership development efforts typically center on work-based experiences and not personal life experiences. This study delves into the relationships among significant life experiences, leader identity, and adult…

This cross-sectional study examined if there was a positive correlation between students' critical consciousness (CC) levels and their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The study was conducted via a survey that had four parts, including the Critical Consciousness Inventory (CCI), the Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Survey, open classroom (OC)…

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of Black women employed in senior-level Division I NCAA football bowl subdivision (FBS) intercollegiate athletic administration. The study answers two research questions to understand how Black women in FBS athletics perceive their intersecting identities as influencing their career experiences…

This phenomenological qualitative study addressed "The Experience of Being Gifted and Talented From the Perspective of Adolescents." The literature review supported the idea that there are many facets to an individual's experience of self and their place within different groups. Factors like identity development, social and emotional…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has highlighted the risk of non-users among college students using illegal prescription stimulants due to misinformation and incorrect assumptions. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perspectives of college students who do not use stimulants on perceived risks, social…

The purpose of this study was to decentralize the deficit-based approach in academia of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students in higher education by centralizing the voices of BIPOC students in their third or final years of higher education. The study used the CCW framework to understand further and expand the knowledge of the…

Previous research has found mixed results for a link between executive function and perspective-taking. One proposed reason for this is that perspective-taking during comprehension tasks may not be internally reliable. This dissertation presents two large individual differences experiments with multiple perspective-taking during comprehension and…

Teacher empathy is an essential feature in supporting social, emotional, and academic growth in students; however, there have been few studies of teacher empathy and job burnout. Teachers need to show empathy toward students without experiencing symptoms of job burnout to ensure students' academic, social, and emotional success. A mixed-methods…

Given the current political climate of division, the study of history is important now more than ever, but the value of the study of history has been marginalized. This study used student focus groups to understand ways in which history could be taught in such a way that its importance is emphasized through relevance and connection to current…

Scholars and educators are turning to culturally responsive education to create more inclusive and equitable educational experiences for an increasingly diverse student population (Gay, 2010, 2013, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 1995b, 2014). However, despite its immense potential, challenges and pitfalls still exist (Sleeter, 2012; Warren, 2014,…