The purpose of this pilot study is to learn whether and to what extent, the introduction of podcasts and podcasting into teacher education classes improves the educational experience for preservice teachers. A survey and individual interviews were analyzed through the lens of Garrison et al.'s (2000) model of community inquiry, which involves…

This study explored the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) attitudes and self-efficacy of secondary students identifying as Black South African, multi-racial or Afrikaans South African, or Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe nationals who participated in a non-formal STEM education camp programme. Using Bandura's social cognitive…

Exploring student motivation to learn is a research area that has rapidly expanded over the past decade, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence education. In the field of anatomy, most research about motivation to learn targets medical and other health professional students, but little is known about factors that drive students…

Adolescents and young adults living with chronic illness experience more complications and challenges when transitioning to adult-oriented care. Despite various interventions to support medication management, goal setting, and collaboration with care teams, AYAs continue to struggle, affecting their health and life outcomes. In this dissertation,…

Although graduate-educated engineers are essential for the professoriate, technological advancement, and the growth of the U.S. economy, there is concern about the shortage of future PhD-holding engineers pursuing careers in academia and industry. This shortage relates, in part, to high levels of attrition among engineering graduate students. It…

A considerable gap exists in understanding the educational and career trajectories of Latina students attending rural postsecondary institutions. Although the number of rural students entering college has increased, their experiences and the factors influencing their academic success and future careers have been largely overlooked. Research on…

This eight-year longitudinal case study follows one high school English teacher from her practicum and student teaching through three subsequent job sites, with one year off due to prohibitive job stress. To study the developmental path of Caitlin, the teacher, we rely on the metaphor of the twisting path, which comes from Vygotsky's attention to…

Indigenous students often see higher education as a means by which they can meet their familial, community, and cultural responsibilities. Unfortunately, many collegiate institutions emphasize values and social protocols, a way of understanding, and a way of knowing that are unfamiliar and even hostile to Indigenous worldviews. To better…

The global increase in enrolment in higher education (HE) has increased the diversity of students who access HE, which poses a challenge because we have a limited understanding of the way students experience HE institutions. This paper investigates why students dropout of HE and propose preventive measures. Dropout has adverse effects on student…

In this essay, Cynthia Carolina Terán López and Christina Convertino present a new mentoring model for Latina doctoral students, the echémonos flores mentoring model (FEMM), which draws on the ideas of new tribalism and nos/otras in Gloria Anzaldúa's post-Borderlands work and the praxis of pláticas, or conversations, and testimonios to decenter…

This qualitative case study examines the lateral transfer student experience--students who transfer from one four-year institution to another--at the University of Missouri. Through the lens of transfer student capital, this study analyzed eleven lateral transfer student interviews and three institutional websites to identify a revised framework…

Black girls' unique needs are often ignored in the educational system and left out of the literature, causing their voices to be unheard (Harrison, 2017). Their negative experiences in school can lead to frequent absences, gaps in education, and missed opportunities to pursue higher education. This increases the likelihood of Black girls dropping…

The first year of college is a critical time for students, as their early experiences can determine the path of their educational journey. Students are most at-risk for dropping out of college during their first year, and first-generation students have higher rates of departure than their continuing-generation peers. Student engagement, sense of…

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…

College unions are a common feature on the traditional American campus. The Association of College Unions International, the Association that advances the role of the college union, has long claimed that the college union assists with community building on campus and that the college union is a place where everyone on campus can come to gather.…