Team supervision of PhDs is increasingly the norm in Australian and UK universities; while this model brings many improvements on the traditional one-on-one research supervision, it also introduces new complexities. In particular, many students find the diversity of opinions expressed in teams to be confusing. Such diversity in supervisor feedback…

This multiple case study explored classified staff interactions with students as a strategy for increasing success. Interviews, observations, and focus groups examined interactions from the staff perspective. Findings indicate staff members enhance the educational process by providing a human connection, offering practical strategies for success,…

Research into MOOCs--massive, open, online courses--is proliferating as they become increasingly popular in the UK. The study reported here sought in-depth accounts of learning on a MOOC from ten people who completed one of the University of Southampton's first two such courses during 2014. Its goal is to better understand their motivations for…

This study examined the experiences of six college participants who entered college with many risk-factors for drop-out, but who persisted to graduation. The present research was conducted at a private, liberal arts university. All participants possessed multiple risk factors for drop-out including low high school academic performance,…

This paper reports on a doctoral study that investigated an alternative pedagogical approach in an online VET teacher-education course offered at a mid-sized university in Australia. Students in the course were mature-aged and adding study to their role as in-service VET teachers. Building on previous research, a set of design principles was…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of students in an audio-enhanced online classroom. Online students who had participated in such a classroom experience were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed to explain the students' experiences with the technology online and show how each student perceived the…

The experiences of young people with disabilities of inclusive schooling are largely under researched. This paper reports recent findings of a small-scale Australian qualitative study, in which secondary students with vision impairment spoke about their experiences of receiving paraprofessional support. Two overarching themes emerged from this…

This paper reports the results of an interview study of 18 current and former pupils in the Danish "Folkeskole" (primary and secondary public school) from 1930 up to the present. The aim of the study is to provide a forum for usually unheard voices on the subject of everyday life in school. The study pays special attention to relational…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological explorative study was to explore the perceptions, views, opinions, and feelings of multiracial college students about being multiracial and adopting a multiracial race category on documentation. By allowing them, the opportunity to tell their stories in a non-threatening environment to someone who…

The purpose of this study is to report the lived experiences of seventh and eighth grade students experiencing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in middle school. Although there is increasing popularity in the use of the PBIS system in schools throughout the country, there is little known about students' perceptions of the…

What's the use of race and does race matter? These two questions serve as the foundation for this dissertation comprised of three studies examining: (1) how scholars "use" race in their research and how their decisions matter for the way race is interpreted; (2) how students make meaning of race (as a social construct) during a time…

Globalization of the world economy has confirmed the need for citizens to exemplify competitive capacities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Since the 1970s, American higher education has seen increasing numbers of students entering college but has witnessed a decline in the number of students enrolling in STEM programs.…

This exploratory qualitative study examined the role that professors play in classroom climate for immigrant students within their first two years in higher education. The research questions were 1) How are immigrant students generally experiencing the climate of higher education classrooms? 2) How specifically does the immigrant student's…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe patterns of behavior that a student-athlete not only exhibits during athletic competition, but also transfers from the soccer field to the college classroom and to the teaching profession. Using journals, lesson plans, teaching commentaries, videos, and interviews, a qualitative case study…

Little is known about how youth with LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) parents experience various forms of sexual stigma (i.e., homophobia and heterosexism). Previous studies have focused primarily on frequency of teasing and harassment; therefore, much less is known about how indirect and institutional types of sexual stigma play out in the lives…