In graduate evaluation education, research has shown that theory to practice is overshadowed by a focus on practical methods which results in evaluation education tension and a tenuous understanding of evaluation theory to practice when evaluators complete their graduate studies. Little is understood about evaluation theory to practice from…

This qualitative self-study brings philosophies of weak education to bear on the author's leadership practice situated within the belly of a business environment. The study investigates the author's practical application of weak educational theory into a weak educational leadership practice. This research reflects the author's struggle with…

Patriarchal ideologies and structures helped to shape the public school institution at the onset of compulsory education in the United States and continue to circulate within educational discourses today, causing harmful consequences for the workforce made up of mostly women that is tasked with educating our nation's youth (Jones, 2020, Accepted…

This study explores the possibilities and tensions that emerged when preservice teachers integrated both the science of reading and a culturally sustaining framework when learning about and teaching reading comprehension. Utilizing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, this research draws on data from interviews, student coursework…

This mixed-methods dissertation study analyzed curriculum and teachers' enacted instruction to determine if there was overlap between the evidence-based practices in teachers' enacted practice and those that were also contained in the curricular materials. Participants in this study were kindergarten through third-grade teachers (n=25) from…

This study examined the experiences of a diverse group of K-12 educators in Hawai?i, exploring the factors that shaped their orientation towards social justice education (SJE) and their definitions and conceptualizations of SJE in their work as educators. The framework of settler colonialism highlighted the fact that there can be no social justice…

This dissertation aimed to narrow the gap between learning and exercising leadership. It tried to address three main gaps in the field of leadership development assessment as its main research objectives: 1) the measurement gap which concerns the divergence between academic and industry perspectives on leadership development 2) the…

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore the experience of student learning outcomes assessment among four midlevel student affairs managers to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of change readiness to engage in assessment practices. This study sought to address the theory-practice gap in student affairs…

In today's context of schooling, most teaching is aimed at output, coverage, and high scores which is in direct contrast to what pre-service teachers are taught to cherish -- differentiation, academic choice, and student autonomy. However, there is an approach that shows promise in counteracting the tendency to over stress scores and undermine a…

Everything is designed. From the fork you hold in your hand, to the car you drive, to the public transportation you use, to the mechanisms for justice within a society, to the process of designing itself. Embedded in these designs are the assumptions that underlie the design methods and toolkits used in the design process. In practice, design…

This dissertation examines the connection between policy that guides student conduct process and the application of student development theory. Using multi-case study analysis, four conduct administrators at land grant universities were interviewed to understand the ideals and motivators that guide their practice as they facilitate the conduct…

Improvement science enables researchers to focus on a theory of change in structures and processes in classroom practices. This improvement science intervention was designed to reorient practitioners toward new instructional norms that promote discourse between teacher-students and student-student during instruction. The purpose of this research…

This qualitative, interpretive study examined the following three research questions: (a) How do lay leaders at Jesuit institutions of higher education understand Ignatian social justice? (b) What elements of Ignatian formation were most salient for lay leaders' personal and/or professional transformation? and (c) How do lay leaders at Jesuit…

Non-evidence-based practices (NEBPs) are interventions that have not been indicated by research to be effective in treating the core deficits of autism or the related behavioral challenges across developmental domains. Under the umbrella of NEBPs are the interventions for autism that are physically and/or emotionally harmful, as well as those that…

James MacGregor Burns (1978) stated that leadership was one of the least understood phenomena in the world even though it was one of the most studied. This lack of understanding was even more prevalent when high school leadership development was examined. At present, a knowledge deficit exists between research and practice, as individuals…