The social maladjustment exclusionary clause has been a source of contention and confusion for the last 50 years. Social maladjustment has never been defined at the federal level, leaving creating the definition to local and state agencies. Social maladjusted was not included in the original definition created by Eli Bower in the 1960s. It was…

The purpose of this study is to research the roles that agency, collectivity, and social justice have in the professional learning experiences of teachers of color. By understanding how teachers of color make decisions regarding their professional learning outside of the confines of schools, researchers are able to shed light on what professional…

This dissertation considers the social, political, legal, cultural, historical, temporal, and other contextual forces concerning educational access for young people experiencing forms of state custody and surveillance at the intersections of multiple identity markers and inquires into efforts to resist injustices. It also explores educational…

Teaching mathematics for social justice or critical mathematical literacy is said to have the potential of providing all students with equal access to mathematics education. The researcher used a case study approach to investigate the factors that affect female students' development of sociopolitical consciousness and social agency through reading…

Many schools across the nation are looking for effective ways to address truancy. Considering trauma informed practices is a promising approach, but an important obstacle to implementation is the dominant perspective that a punitive approach is more appropriate or effective. By researching how partnerships between the school, juvenile courts, and…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new course developed for students in the early childhood education (ECE) graduate and/or licensure in early childhood special education (ECSE)--a Colorado teacher licensure program--in the School of Education and Human Development at CU Denver. The study explored graduate students' learning in a course…

This dissertation explores the role of social media use in the social development of "at-risk" youth in Los Angeles, CA and Lafayette, IN, with a major goal of identifying beneficial ways to address the social support needs of youth and adolescents to aid in their successful assimilation into adulthood. This study employs ethnographic…

The need for a STEM literate workforce has presented a complex issue on both the national and local level. The Omaha STEM Ecosystem was established in 2016 as a connecting agency to leverage the social capital of member stakeholders in addressing STEM workforce gaps by strengthening the availability of STEM pipeline learning opportunities in the…

For years, scholars have recognized the high levels of attrition that occur in many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. The literature emerging from studies has revealed many of the issues regarding attrition and the disparity in retention between many students of color, women, and their White male peers. Scholars have…

Understanding the professional identity of senior-level undergraduate business students may shed light on the rampant unethical acts of business managers in industry. Business education is the largest segment of undergraduate majors, constituting more than 20% of students in four-year institutions, year after year. To explain the professional…

This multi-component study assesses perceived mechanisms through which undergraduate and graduate college students use social media and learning management systems (LMS) through multiple regression path modelling. The literature review outlines current work related to investigating the mechanisms of learning through LMS and social media, and…

The Omaha STEM Ecosystem (OSE) is a multi-stakeholder collaborative network (MSCN) with active members from six key stakeholder groups (Business, Education, Family, Government, Non-Profit, and Science Centers and Museums). OSE serves as a connecting agency which leverages the social capital of these member stakeholders to address the STEM…

Current research into data use suggests that the intersection of assessment, reform, and public accountability and their impact on teacher practice are under-conceptualized and not well researched, especially when the data are derived from assessments that are locally produced by teachers. This qualitative case study investigates the development…

The national shortage of school counselors has left approximately 8 million students without access to a school counselor (American School Counselor Association, 2021). The lack of adequate counseling services negatively affects graduation rates, college enrollment, and behavior issues (Lapan et al., 2012). This phenomenological study explores 11…

Researchers, institutional leaders, government policy makers, and leading foundations note the significant role an educated Latina/o population plays in the nation, future workforce, and democracy. This longitudinal study examines the experiences in U.S. colleges and universities that prepare Latina/o students for participation in American…