The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015 have significantly emphasized student academic outcomes in recent years. As a result, school districts are seeking strategies to increase student achievement and incorporate required standards and goals. Reducing scheduled physical activity time that students in…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how principal supervisors who identify as Black develop Black principals in K-12 settings. The approaches generally include leadership activities, philosophies, and mentoring. This study will use a phenomenological approach, focusing on the lived experience of Black principal supervisors in…

This qualitative case study investigated the challenges Information Technology (IT) professionals faced in Higher Education Organizations (HEOs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought unforeseen challenges and technological disruptions to HEOs, significantly impacting IT professionals. The study aimed to deepen the understanding of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gamified training in cybersecurity concepts on individuals not employed in information technology roles compared to traditional pieces of training. As the world becomes increasingly connected technologically, so too do the cyber vulnerabilities increase, and it is essential for all types of…

Researchers and educators have documented stress and other mental health challenges among music education majors for decades. Issues related to academic workload in competitive music environments, striving to develop a teaching identity, and adjustments to college life often combine to create tension and unease. These problems were exacerbated…

This dissertation examined the experiences of women of color (WOC), defined as African American and Latina women for this study, as they pursued a degree in a criminal justice program at a Midwest community college. Utilizing Schlossberg's transition theory, the qualitative case study sought to learn how WOC experience the transition to being…

As autistic individuals grow into adulthood, they are much more likely to experience a need for employment-related skills, with research on these skills lacking relative to child-focused research. Accordingly, this dissertation examined existing literature on employment-related skill development and based on community consultation, developed…

Undergraduate applied saxophone study revolves around the conservatory model. This inflexible model, often referred to as a master-apprentice relationship, can create an instructor-centric power dynamic which does not address the needs of the modern student. A classroom where the power lies so heavily with the instructor can stifle student…

The history of academic intervention demonstrates multiple long-standing methods to address students' with disabilities academic shortcomings. Educators have wrestled with implementing interventions to best serve students with disabilities at the federal, state, and local levels. Many programs have received funding. However, students with…

This study focused on the problem that students attending on-ground programs retain significantly higher than students in online programs. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine what difference, if any, existed in the grades and persistence of adult online students who used student support services and those who…

Religiosity and spirituality often provide core coping structures to believers. College students are regularly put into novel situations and environments in which they must rely on their coping mechanisms, including practices that stem from their potential religious/spiritual identities. However, religious identity group differences in college…

The devastating effects of the Novel Coronavirus and the impact that stay-at-home orders and mask mandates have placed on businesses have caused countries to plummet into economic recession. State quarantine measures and the fear of contracting the virus have led to structural change, resulting in more people enlisting on welfare rolls. The…

Despite documented accounts from academics of color, literature about academic writing often overlooks their experiences as racially minoritized writers. This article addresses this limitation by situating Natalie Goldberg's (2016) composting as a writing practice of wellness. I begin by defining composting as an active process of leveraging…

The primary purpose of this descriptive research was to replicate a previous study, comparing perceived happiness (pleasure, meaning, and engagement) and gratitude levels of university music majors by year in school (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate) and major (music education or non-music education). The secondary purpose was to…

Special education students spend most of their academic school days removed from the general education classroom, thus losing instruction from content specialists. This study was designed to help the researcher understand how general education teachers' self-efficacy influences their preparedness, whether general education teachers feel adequately…