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To explore new opportunities to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) across a variety of contexts, this study applies a novel assignment called Pink Time in seven different courses at two universities. The assignment asks students to “skip class, do anything you want, and give yourself a grade.” In each case, instructors adapted Pink Time to fit the needs of their course. Altogether, 165 students completed 270 self-directed projects and self-assessments targeting five component behaviors of SRL. Findings show that: (1) students were more likely to perceive success in certain behaviors of SRL than in others; (2) students’ perceptions across courses were similar for some behaviors but not others; and (3) subsequent iterations of the assignment supported higher perceived measures of some SRL behaviors but not others. Together these findings illustrate the value and flexibility of this progressive assignment as well as persistent challenges in supporting students’ SRL. Published (Publication status) https://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE3649.pdf

Prior research has demonstrated the efficacy of general education coursework among American college students (Ball, 2012; Rosenzweig, 2009). Traditional models of general education programs are predicated on the understanding that exposure to a broad set of educational experiences creates well-rounded graduates (Roche, 2010). However, emerging research shows the importance of integrative learning experiences including general education programs (Lowenstein, 2015). These programs are just now at the initial stages of development and implementation at colleges and universities making it possible to study direct effects on student learning. What remains, however, is limited ways to measure such learning in emerging programs. One large, research university in a mid-Atlantic state provides opportunity to construct a measure of integrated learning. This study addressed the salient literature on general education in higher education today and then used quantitative methods and qualitative methods to investigate an empirically based measure of integrative learning. Findings revealed the continuous process of integrative learning from disciplinary knowledge to application to real world and established an initial framework for assessing students learning outcomes of integration. Finally, the research provided implications for researchers and practitioners to utilize the instrument and extend it to a wider range of students and academic programs. Doctor of Philosophy The general education framework has deep roots and is quintessential to American higher education (Ball, 2012; Rosenzweig, 2009). While general education models have evolved over time, traditional expectations are cultivating students with broad knowledge in courses that span a broad range of academic subjects (Roche, 2010). Recent research show that general education program has an impact on student development (Lowenstein, 2015). Emerging programs are beginning to shift the focus of general education from a menu-style curriculum to one that focuses on integrative learning. Currently, there is limited ways to measure and evaluate students' learning outcomes, particularly with complex learning concepts such as integration. This study was designed to develop a new measure of integrative learning. The study occurred at a large, research university in a mid-Atlantic state that implemented a novel general education program designed to focus on integrated learning in general education. The study first explored the existing literature on general education in higher education. Next, the study designed and tested a new instrument to measure integrative learning. Finally, the research provided implications for researchers and practitioners to utilize the survey. Further, it calls for additional research with different types of students across a broader range of institutions, and enhancements to the instrument that include new items to strengthen the measure.

Indoor spaces have become increasingly prevalent in human lives. While scholarship in other fields has studied the relationship between humans and the indoors, it has not been readily investigated in Geography. This study draws from prior research in Building Design, Managerial Science, and Education to examine the relationship between building users and resources in indoor spaces. To better understand how users seek resources in an indoor, academic space, this research asks: (1) what spaces and resources do building users value?; and (2) how are their perceptions of value associated with observed measures of occupancy? This research takes place in Goodwin Hall, on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This research relies on surveys conducted in 2018 as well accelerometer data collected in 2018 to examine the relationship between users' perception and use of resources in informal learning environments. Through quantitative analysis this research tests the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings indicate that certain measures of use and value support the ideal free distribution hypothesis. These results help to lay a groundwork for future geographic research in indoor spaces. Master of Science Indoor spaces have become increasingly created, used, and occupied by humans. Geography, as a discipline, has traditionally studied the relationship that humans have with their surrounding outdoor environments. This research studies how humans interact with their indoor environments. Other disciplines, such as Building Design, Managerial Science, and Education have examined how indoor spaces can impact human movement, behavior, and choice. Geography is a spatial discipline (observes how variables affect each other over space) and offers a differing lens to view human-indoor relationships. To better understand how users seek resources in an indoor, academic space, this research asks: (1) what spaces and resources do building users value?; and (2) how are their perceptions of value associated with observed measures of occupancy? This research takes place in Goodwin Hall, on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This research relies on surveys conducted in 2018 as well accelerometer data, which observes the amount of acceleration, collected in 2018 to examine the relationship between how users' view and use resources and spaces within an indoor environment. Through quantitative analysis this research tests the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings show that certain measures of use and value support the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings from this paper help to provide more insight into how humans interact with indoor spaces and lays the groundwork for future indoor geographic research.

School counselors support students' social-emotional, academic, and career readiness (ASCA, 2019). However, who provides support for school counselors to navigate this herculean responsibility? Supervision provides opportunities for counselors to learn, consult, and practice counseling knowledge and skills to offer the most research-informed, inclusive, and culturally responsive services to appropriately support clients' needs (Bernard and Goodyear, 2019; Ratts et al., 2015; Mitchell and Butler, 2021). With the current state of society, students' mental health and social-emotional needs are paramount, and the support needed for school counselors to assist students' holistic development is critical. The author proposes #S.O.S.³ to promote the Supervision of School Counselors to Support Students. Without counseling supervision, research warns of erosion of school counselor self-efficacy. This qualitative, phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews to investigate ten school counseling supervisors' (SCS) counseling supervision experiences. This study uncovered five superordinate themes and related subthemes regarding the supervision experiences of SCS who received and delivered clinical supervision. Implications for SCS, counselor educators, school district and state educational administrators on the needs of SCS that will inform the supervision of school counselors who provide counseling services to support students' social-emotional/mental health needs are discussed. Doctor of Philosophy Supervision provides opportunities for counselors to learn, consult, and practice counseling knowledge and skills to offer the most research-informed, inclusive, and culturally responsive services to appropriately support clients' needs (Bernard and Goodyear, 2019; Ratts et al., 2015; Mitchell and Butler, 2021). Research has uncovered that school counselors often receive none or minimal clinical supervision compared to counselors in agencies, hospitals, and private practice (Page et al., 2001; Dollarhide and Miller, 2006; DeKruyf et al., 2013). Also, research shows school counselors prefer supervisors that have clinical mental health understanding and knowledge (Dollarhide and Miller, 2006; Roberts and Borders, 1994), and school counselors who participate in clinical supervision continue to develop skills and techniques to assist in appropriate strategies and interventions to support students and families (Bledsoe et al., 2021). However, despite the increased number of studies on school counseling supervision, few studies have explicitly focused on school counseling supervisors' (SCS) experiences. This qualitative, phenomenological study, using semi-structured interviews, investigated the clinical supervision perceptions and experiences of ten SCS who received and provided clinical supervision. This study discovered five superordinate themes and related subthemes regarding clinical supervision experiences, including professional (a) preparation, (b) identity, (c) self-efficacy, (d) challenges, and (e) quality of life. Implications for school counseling supervision are discussed.

Despite reform efforts to broaden historically underrepresented populations across STEM disciplines, the data continues to highlight gaps of achievement across racial demographics. In an effort to address educational inequity, current reform efforts have touted the implementation of learning progressions as a promising strategy that can produce equality of outcomes across racial groups in STEM. Despite this promising effort, few studies have examined how to integrate practices of equity within learning progressions for groups such as African Americans that have been traditionally excluded from science and STEM. This study argues that an equity oriented learning progression should be responsive to sociohistorical factors of epistemic injustice that dissociated African Americans identities from being producers of knowledge. This study argues that the construction of a learning progression to advance the epistemic participation of African American students is aligned with goals of social justice related to diversifying STEM. The aims of this study explored how African American students progressed toward epistemic agency as STEM learners as a result of identity transformation through the engagement of the epistemic practices of engineering. This study used qualitative methodology to explore how student participants demonstrate epistemic development in their artifacts and discourse when engaging in engineering activities across a learning progression designed to develop epistemic agency. The findings from this study contribute to a broader understanding of how equity-oriented learning progressions can be designed to promote epistemic justice, how sociocultural positionings influence epistemic communities, and how students can become epistemic agents to raise STEM awareness within their local community. Advancing students epistemic practices of engineering and epistemic agency as STEM learners is key to creating meaningful pathways into STEM for students in K-12. Doctor of Philosophy National imperatives to broaden the STEM participation of underrepresented groups remains a prominent priority across educational research. Due to marginal effectiveness associated with racialized minorities, researchers continue to explore equity oriented initiatives. In an effort to address educational inequity, current reform efforts have touted the implementation of learning progressions as a promising strategy that can produce equality of outcomes across racial groups in science and STEM. Educational inequity prevents underrepresented populations, such as African Americans, from having the types of educational experiences that position them as significant contributors in STEM and more specifically engineering. This study argues that the construction of a learning progression to advance the epistemic participation and agency of African American students in STEM is a sociohistorical response to a legacy of epistemic injustice. Qualitative methodology was used to explore how African American students progressed toward epistemic agency as STEM learners as a result of identity transformation through the engagement of the epistemic practices of engineering. The findings indicated that the engineering design activities within the curriculum positively influenced students' identity, self-efficacy, and demonstration of epistemic agency across the learning progression. Additionally, the findings indicated the effectiveness of using the epistemic practices of engineering to facilitate the cognitive development of the engineering habits of mind. Lastly, the findings indicated the significance of using the epistemic practices of engineering to reposition African American students' identities as epistemic contributors both within the classroom and within their local community.

This study examined the social and environmental supports and barriers that community college students perceive during their pursuit of transfer to a four-year college or university for the purpose of completing a bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) major, and how these factors relate to their perceived likelihood of degree attainment. A total of 307 students across seven Virginia community colleges responded to an online survey including validated instruments for measuring perceived supports, barriers, and persistence intentions. Statistical analyses explored differences between first-generation and continuing-generation student perceptions based on two widely used but contrasting definitions of first-generation college student. The first manuscript addresses differences in student perceptions. First-generation students with no parental college experience had significantly lower reported support scores based on their lower perceived financial resources. No other differences were found. The second manuscript explores the relationship between student support and barrier perceptions and their persistence intentions, or perceived likelihood of successfully completing their degree. The entire sample of community college students demonstrated theory-consistent correlations. However, contrary to most published research that has taken place in the four-year setting, results for first- and continuing-generation subgroups were inconsistent. This study serves as a foundation for further research performed at the community college, where results may vary compared to four-year contexts. Doctor of Philosophy Most published community college transfer research takes place at four-year colleges and universities, after students have successfully transferred. Less is known about the experiences of students pursuing transfer. This study examined the social and environmental supports and barriers that community college students perceive during their pursuit of transfer to a four-year college or university for the purpose of completing a bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) major, and how these factors relate to their perceived likelihood of degree attainment. A total of 307 students across seven Virginia community colleges responded to an online survey including validated instruments for measuring perceived supports, barriers, and persistence intentions. Statistical analyses explored differences between first-generation and continuing-generation student perceptions based on two widely used but contrasting definitions of first-generation college student. The entire sample of community college students demonstrated theory-consistent correlations. However, contrary to most published research that has taken place in the four-year setting, results for first- and continuing-generation subgroups were inconsistent. This study serves as a foundation for further research performed at the community college, where results may vary compared to four-year contexts.

Computer Science (CS) is a critical subject for STEM students to learn. Yet, many students struggle in Introductory Computer Science (CS1) and fail or dropout of the class. A lack of CS self-efficacy - the belief that the individual can complete a task - is frequently the cause of this failure to succeed in CS1. Solutions have been proposed to improve student self-efficacy in CS1. Unfortunately, a lack of self-efficacy in CS1 classes is still a problem. This study examines a pedagogical tool, whiteboarding, and it's affect on student perception of self-efficacy during the programming problem-solving process for novice programmers. These findings indicate whiteboarding can be a vital tool that increases student self-efficacy by improving their success at programming activities, increasing collaboration and feedback, and providing an active learning environment that is positive and holds students accountable for their work. The goal of this multiple method study was to identify the effect on CS1 students' perception of self-efficacy. Focus group sessions and researcher notes and memos were used to collect qualitative data. A pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy questionnaire was used to quantify the change in self-efficacy. The whiteboarding intervention was conducted in two AP CS A classes during the first four weeks of the year. Seventeen 10th grade students participated in the focus groups and the questionnaire. Three focus groups of four students and one focus group of five students was conducted at the end of the intervention. The three themes that emerged from the focus group sessions answered the research question: Engagement with the Problem, Engagement with Others, and Engagement with the Environment. Teaching success in the CS1 classroom requires student self-efficacy. This study has implications for CS1 course instructors. Doctor of Philosophy Computer programming is a critical skill for STEM students to learn. Students frequently fail or dropout of Introductory Computer Science (CS1) classes. Research implies that one of the biggest factors for student success and persistence in CS1 is self-efficacy – the belief that the individual can complete a task. General factors that influence self-efficacy include completing tasks successfully, watching others complete a task, verbal support from others, and being calm and positive when faced with a challenge. But, self-efficacy is specific to the task that the individual is trying to complete. Studies have identified some of the factors that influence programming specific self-efficacy: prior programming knowledge, computer literacy, a sense of belonging in Computer Science (CS), understanding CS concepts, and goal orientation and metacognitive strategies. There are teaching strategies in CS1 that have been developed that have been shown to increase self-efficacy for CS1 students such as peer-instruction, mental models, and teacher interaction. Teachers need more tools and strategies to help students increase their self-efficacy while they are learning the difficult task of programming. This mixed-methods study examined the use of whiteboarding by 17 students in the Advanced Placement CS A course during the first month of instruction. This study showed that whiteboarding influenced many of the factors that improve self-efficacy in the CS1 classroom. The implications of this study can lead to teachers implementing whiteboarding as tool during the problem-solving process in the CS1 classroom.

Student misconceptions in science are common and may be present even for students who are academically successful. Concept inventories, multiple-choice tests in which the distractors map onto common, previously identified misconceptions, are commonly used by researchers and educators to gauge the prevalence of student misconceptions in science. Distractor analysis of concept inventory responses could be used to create profiles of individual student misconceptions which could provide deeper insight into the phenomenon and provide useful information for instructional planning, but this is rarely done as the inventories are not designed to facilitate it. Researchers in educational measurement have suggested that diagnostic cognitive models (DCMs) could be used to diagnose misconceptions and to create such misconception profiles. DCMs are multidimensional, confirmatory latent class models which are designed to measure the mastery/presence of fine-grained skills/attributes. By replacing the skills/attributes in the model with common misconceptions, DCMs could be used to filter students into misconception profiles based on their responses to concept inventory-like questions. A few researchers have developed new DCMs that are specifically designed to do this and have retrofitted data from existing concept inventories to them. However, cognitive diagnostic assessments, which are likely to display better model fit with DCMs, have not been developed. This project developed a cognitive diagnostic assessment to measure knowledge and misconceptions about Newton's laws and fitted it with the deterministic input noisy-and-gate (DINA) model. Experienced physics instructors assessed content validity and Q-matrix alignment. A pilot test with 100 undergraduates was conducted to assess item quality within a classical test theory framework. The final version of the assessment was field tested with 349 undergraduates. Results showed that response data displayed acceptable fit to the DINA model at the item level, but more questionable fit at the overall model level; that responses to selected items were similar to those given to two items from the Force Concept Inventory; and that, although all students were likely to have misconceptions, those with lower knowledge scores were more likely to have misconceptions. Doctor of Philosophy Misconceptions about science are common even among well-educated adults. Misconceptions range from incorrect facts to personal explanations for natural phenomena that make intuitive sense but are incorrect. Frequently, they exist in people's minds alongside correct science knowledge. Because of this, misconceptions are often difficult to identify and to change. Students may be academically successful and still retain their misconceptions. Concept inventories, multiple-choice tests in which the incorrect answer choices appeal to students with common misconceptions, are frequently used by researchers and educators to gauge the prevalence of student misconceptions in science. Analysis of incorrect answer choices to concept inventory questions can be used to determine individual student's misconceptions, but it is rarely done because the inventories are not known to be valid measures for this purpose. One source of validity for tests is the statistical model that is used to calculate test scores. In valid tests, student's answers to the questions should follow similar patterns to those predicted by the model. For instance, students are likely to get questions about the same things either all correct or all incorrect. Researchers in educational measurement have proposed that certain types of innovative statistical models could be used to develop tests that identify student's misconceptions, but no one has done so. This project developed a test to measure knowledge and misconceptions about forces and assessed how well it predicted student's misconceptions compared to two statistical models. Results showed that the test predicted student's knowledge in good agreement and misconceptions in moderate agreement with the statistical models; that students tended to answer selected questions in the same way that they answered two similar questions from an existing test about forces; and that, although students with lower test scores were more likely to have misconceptions, students with high test scores also had misconceptions.

Although previous studies on structural equation modeling (SEM) have indicated that the second-order latent growth model (SOLGM) is a more appropriate approach to longitudinal intervention effects, its application still requires researchers to collect at least three-wave data (e.g. randomized pretest, posttest, and follow-up design). However, in some circumstances, researchers can only collect two-wave data for resource limitations. With only two-wave data, the SOLGM can not be identified and researchers often choose alternative SEM models to fit two-wave data. Recent studies show that the two-wave longitudinal common factor model (2W-LCFM) and latent change score model (2W-LCSM) can perform well for comparing latent change between groups. However, there still lacks empirical evidence about how accurately these two-wave models can estimate the group effects of latent change obtained by three-wave SOLGM (3W-SOLGM). The main purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is trying to examine to what extent the fixed effects of the tree-wave SOLGM can be recovered from the parameter estimates of the two-wave LCFM and LCSM given different simulation conditions. Fundamentally, the supplementary study (study 2) using three-wave LCFM was established to help justify the logistics of different model comparisons in our main study (study 1). The data generating model in both studies is 3W-SOLGM and there are in total 5 simulation factors (sample size, group differences in intercept and slope, the covariance between the slope and intercept, size of time-specific residual, change the pattern of time-specific residual). Three main types of evaluation indices were used to assess the quality of estimation (bias/relative bias, standard error, and power/type I error rate). The results in the supplementary study show that the performance of 3W-LCFM and 3W-LCSM are equivalent, which further justifies the different models' comparison in the main study. The point estimates for the fixed effect parameters obtained from the two-wave models are unbiased or identical to the ones from the three-wave model. However, using two-wave models could reduce the estimation precision and statistical power when the time-specific residual variance is large and changing pattern is heteroscedastic (non-constant). Finally, two real datasets were used to illustrate the simulation results. Doctor of Philosophy To collect and analyze the longitudinal data is a very important approach to understand the phenomenon of development in the real world. Ideally, researchers who are interested in using a longitudinal framework would prefer collecting data at more than two points in time because it can provide a deeper understanding of the developmental processes. However, in real scenarios, data may only be collected at two-time points. With only two-wave data, the second-order latent growth model (SOLGM) could not be used. The current dissertation compared the performance of two-wave models (longitudinal common factor model and latent change score model) with the three-wave SOLGM in order to better understand how the estimation quality of two-wave models could be comparable to the tree-wave model. The results show that on average, the estimation from two-wave models is identical to the ones from the three-wave model. So in real data analysis with only one sample, the point estimate by two-wave models should be very closed to that of the three-wave model. But this estimation may not be as accurate as it is obtained by the three-wave model when the latent variable has large variability in the first or last time point. This latent variable is more likely to exist as a statelike construct in the real world. Therefore, the current study could provide a reference framework for substantial researchers who could only have access to two-wave data but are still interested in estimating the growth effect that supposed to obtain by three-wave SOLGM.

Educational researchers are often interested in phenomena that unfold over time within a person and at the same time, relationships between their characteristics that are stable over time. Since variables in a longitudinal study reflect both within- and between-person effects, researchers need to disaggregate them to understand the phenomenon of interest correctly. Although the person-mean centering technique has been believed as the gold standard of the disaggregation method, recent studies found that the centering did not work when there was a trend in the predictor. Hence, they proposed some detrending techniques to remove the systematic change; however, they were only applicable to multilevel models. Therefore, this dissertation develops novel detrending methods based on structural equation modeling (SEM). It also establishes the links between centering and detrending by reviewing a broad range of literature. The proposed SEM-based detrending methods are compared to the existing centering and detrending methods through a series of Monte Carlo simulations. The results indicate that (a) model misspecification for the time-varying predictors or outcomes leads to large bias of and standard error, (b) statistical properties of estimates of the within- and between-person effects are mostly determined by the type of between-person predictors (i.e., observed or latent), and (c) for unbiased estimation of the effects, models with latent between-person predictors require nonzero growth factor variances, while those with observed predictors at the between level need either nonzero or zero variance, depending on the parameter. As concluding remarks, some practical recommendations are provided based on the findings of the present study. Doctor of Philosophy Educational researchers are often interested in longitudinal phenomena within a person and relations between the person's characteristics. Since repeatedly measured variables reflect their within- and between-person aspects, researchers need to disaggregate them statistically to understand the phenomenon of interest. Recent studies found that the traditional centering method, where the individual's average of a predictor was subtracted from the original predictor value, could not correctly disentangle the within- and between-person effects when the predictor showed a systematic change over time (i.e., trend). They proposed some techniques to remove the trend; however, the detrending methods were only applicable to multilevel models. Therefore, the present study develops novel detrending methods using structural equation modeling. The proposed models are compared to the existing methods through a series of Monte Carlo simulations, where we can manipulate a data-generating model and its parameter values. The results indicate that (a) model misspecification for the time-varying predictor or outcome leads to systematic deviation of the estimates from their true values, (b) statistical properties of estimates of the effects are mostly determined by the type of between-person predictors (i.e., observed or latent), and (c) the latent predictor models require nonzero growth factor variances for unbiased estimation, while the observed predictor models need either nonzero or zero variance, depending on the parameter. As concluding remarks, some recommendations for the practitioners are provided.

The research presented in this study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on teacher self-efficacy with delivering design-based learning to elementary students and identifies what resources and support teachers need to administer online or blended learning delivery of design-based learning with elementary students in the current environment. The population was elementary teachers teaching STEM content and this study included a sample of four elementary STEM teachers teaching in rural and suburban communities. Each participating teacher completed the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) (Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, 2012) to reveal their overall self-efficacy with delivering STEM content, followed by participating in a semi-structured interview consisting of queries targeting both research questions. This qualitative analysis revealed a temporary decrease in teachers' self-efficacy at the beginning of the shift to a virtual environment. A lack of student access to resources at home, the teachers' lack of control and support for the student in a synchronous manner, and a change in STEM education as a priority were revealed as contributors to this temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy. To remediate this, teachers reported condensing activities and the Engineering Design Process to accommodate the virtual environment for a traditionally hands-on instructional strategy. Teachers cited fellow educator support, previous coursework, additional time, and access to teacher resources as resources and support that would be beneficial in the current environment. Doctor of Philosophy The research presented in this study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on teacher self-efficacy, or confidence, in using an instructional approach to STEM education with elementary students and identifies what resources and support teachers need to use this instructional strategy online or in blended learning settings, a combination of both online and in-person education. The instructional strategy, design-based learning, allows students to use design-thinking to apply the knowledge they are learning to a construct (Doppelt et al., 2008). This study included a sample of four elementary STEM teachers teaching in rural and suburban communities. Each participating teacher completed the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) (Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, 2012) to reveal their overall self-efficacy with delivering STEM content, followed by participating in an interview. Prominent topics, or themes, revealed from the interviews revealed a temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy at the beginning of the shift to a virtual environment at the beginning of the global pandemic. A lack of student access to resources at home, the teachers' lack of control and support for the student in a real-time manner, and a change in STEM education as a priority were revealed as contributors to this temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy. To address this, the teachers reported condensing activities and the Engineering Design Process to accommodate the virtual environment for a traditionally hands-on instructional strategy. Teachers cited fellow educator support, previous coursework, additional time, and access to teacher resources as resources and support that would be beneficial in the current education system.

The active learning assignment, Pink Time, provides an opportunity to experience and reflect upon learning that may both benefit individuals and contribute to high-quality teaching. Previous studies have found that Pink Time supports university students' motivation and comprehension of the learning process (Baird et al., 2020, Baird et al., 2015). The present study examined the impact of an active learning assignment, Pink Time, on pre-service elementary teachers' motivated-related perceptions. A multiple method approach offers an understanding of the extent to which Pink Time influences the three psychological needs that are a part of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). This theory provides a framework to examine three key components of motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. A sample of 28 pre-service teachers participated in two Pink Time iterations over two different courses. Quantitative data was collected through 21 responses on the MUSIC Model of Academic Inventory (Jones, 2012, 2020) with open-ended response questions to perceptions related to empowerment (autonomy), usefulness, success (competence), interest, and caring (relatedness). Qualitative data was collected using five interviews, four group discussions, and 21 responses to the open-ended survey questions on the MUSIC Model Inventory. The findings imply that Pink Time is a useful tool to support pre-service teachers' perception of motivation in areas of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring. Implications of this study include contributions to classroom assignments in teacher education programs that support motivation which results in high-quality teachers. Pink Time may also be used in the PK-12 setting for both students and teachers. Supporting PK-12 students in pursuing interests and increasing motivation is pertinent to academic success. Educational leaders could offer teachers professional development opportunities through Pink Time where teachers seek out their interests to support their own professional growth and uniquely contribute to school-level outcomes such as inclusive learning environments, effective online/virtual learning, and wellness. Doctor of Philosophy This study was used to understand how pre-service teachers perceive motivation through an active learning assignment called Pink Time. Pre-service teachers participated in two Pink Time assignments by skipping class and learning about a self-selected topic related to education. During the next class session, the pre-service teachers presented what they had learned through the assignment and about themselves as learners. After the presentations were completed, the researcher facilitated a discussion with motivation-related questions. After completing the second Pink Time assignment, pre-service teachers were given a survey that included open-ended questions. Five interviews were conducted after the two Pink Time assignments were completed. Analysis from the interviews, group discussions, and answers on the open-ended items suggested that pre-service teachers described their motivation-related perceptions of Pink Time with three overall themes: influencers of motivation, outcomes of Pink Time, and reactions toward Pink Time. This study showed that Pink Time supported pre-service teachers' motivation related to empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring. Implications of this study can lead to teacher educator programs using Pink Time to support pre-service teachers' motivation. Implications are discussed for the PK-12 school setting as PK-12 teachers can support their students' motivation by allowing young learners to choose topics of interest to learn.

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards specifically require school counselors to be competent in the use of effective classroom management strategies, differentiated instruction, and in designing school counseling core curriculum. While the existing inquiries have contributed significantly to the school counseling knowledge base regarding classroom management, our field lacks adequate research specific to the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors. This quantitative study utilized the School Counselor Self Efficacy Scale, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, and a demographic questionnaire to collect data from a cross-section of elementary school counselors working in Virginia public schools. Differences in elementary school counselors' self-efficacy in classroom management were examined across the following variables: (a) working in schools with a recognized ASCA model program (RAMP) designation, (b) working in a setting that uses school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), (c) prior teaching experience, and (d) years of counseling experience. Analysis showed that elementary school counselors working in schools that participated in SWPBIS had significantly higher classroom management self-efficacy than did school counselors working in schools that did not implement SWPBIS. Surprisingly, elementary school counselors in schools designated as RAMP had significantly lower classroom management self-efficacy than those working in schools without RAMP status. No significant differences in classroom management self-efficacy by years of counseling experience or prior K–12 teaching experience were evident. Implications of these findings are discussed. Doctor of Philosophy Well-managed classrooms make it easier for school counselors to effectively deliver school counseling core curriculum (SCCC) to address the social, personal, academic, and career-related needs of a large number of students at a time. Questions have been raised regarding factors that influence the performance of school counselor roles, and a number of researchers have reported counselor self-efficacy, a person's belief in their ability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance, as critical for effectively carrying out school counseling tasks. While existing inquiries have contributed significantly to the school counseling knowledge base regarding classroom management, little is known about the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors delivering SCCC lessons in Virginia schools. Data were collected using the School Counselor Self-Efficacy scale, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Findings showed that classroom management self-efficacy scores differed among elementary school counselors working in schools that implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) compared to those working in non-SWPBIS schools. Similarly, classroom management self-efficacy levels differed among counselors working in schools with recognized ASCA model program (RAMP) designation and counselors working in non-RAMP designated schools. Elementary school counselors who received training in classroom management had higher classroom management self-efficacy scores compared to those who did not receive training in classroom management. No significant differences were found in classroom management self-efficacy by years of counseling experience or prior K–12 teaching experience.

Given the mission of community colleges, their leaders are often responsible for developing resources to support student success and improve relationships with surrounding communities. To accomplish these goals, community college leaders sometimes participate in cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) since CSPs can strengthen relationships and develop resources across sectors. However, little is known about campus and community leaders' perceptions of forming CSPs and the value they generate. This study examined campus and community leaders' perceptions of CSP participation, specifically the formation process and the value created. Guided by the Collaborative Value Framework (Austin and Seitanidi, 2012a), I conducted a multi-site case study of four community colleges in western rural North Carolina, with each college participating in a CSP designed to support adult students through a workforce development program. Findings revealed intricacies of the CSP formation process and the rich array of value created from CSP participation. Further, each case held a distinct personality, represented by a metaphor to highlight its unique findings: The Phoenix, The Beehive, The Compass, and The Treasure. Finally, leaders perceived CSP participation to be so enriching that each organization planned to continue, expand, or create new CSPs to meet additional shared needs. Leaders revealed a learning process connected to CSP participation that resulted in continual refinement and enhanced plans for future CSPs, illustrating the benefits of CSPs for addressing shared campus and community goals. Findings offer several implications for campus and community leaders, as well as future research and policymaking related to campus and community CSP participation. Doctor of Philosophy Given the mission of community colleges, their leaders are often responsible for developing resources to support student success and improve relationships with surrounding communities. To accomplish these goals, community college leaders sometimes participate in cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) between organizations. However, little is known about campus and community leaders' perceptions of forming CSPs and the value they generate. This study examined campus and community leaders' perceptions of CSP participation, specifically the formation process and the value created. I conducted a multi-site case study of four community colleges in western rural North Carolina, with each college participating in a CSP designed to support adult students through a workforce development program. Findings revealed the importance of establishing solid practices when initially forming a CSP to strengthen the collaboration. A wide variety of rich types of value creation was developed over the course of these CSPs, going well beyond the traditional expectations of simply sharing basic resources between organizations. Further, each case held a distinct and insightful personality, represented by a metaphor to highlight its uniqueness: The Phoenix, The Beehive, The Compass, and The Treasure. Finally, leaders perceived CSP participation to be so enriching that each organization planned to continue, expand, or create new CSPs to meet additional shared needs. Leaders learned new ways to improve current and future CSPs. This study can help campus and community leaders make decisions about the feasibility of participating in a CSP to address a shared goal more effectively rather than tackling a more complex problem single handedly.

The United Nations (2016) and International Olympic Committee (2015) have offered analyses highlighting sport's contributions to societal well-being. More particularly, and for their part, scholars have suggested that sport for development (SFD) initiatives can encourage the development of social capital (Kidd and Donnelly, 2007; Nicholson and Hoye, 2008; Lyras and Welty Peachy, 2011; Coalter, 2013). This dissertation investigated those researchers' claims by exploring the relationship between two SFD organization sports programs and social capital formation among their youth participants in Kigali, Rwanda. I conducted semi-structured interviews with the leaders of both SFD entities to obtain their perceptions concerning whether and how the efforts I examined were linked to social capital creation. I utilized the World Bank's Social Capital Initiative Networks View of social capital for my analysis (Woolcock and Narayan, 2000). This study's participants, coaches and curriculum designers, argued that sport for development initiatives fostered such relationships in a variety of ways, including easing ethnic divisions among those participating and challenging social norms, especially as related to gender. Those interviewed for this inquiry also suggested that SFD programs encouraged the formation of simultaneous amalgams of bonding and bridging social capital among participating youth; novel and potentially powerful evidence of the efficacy of sport programming. Doctor of Philosophy The United Nations (2016) and International Olympic Committee (2015) have each highlighted the significant contributions sport has made, and can make, to societal well-being. Previous research has suggested that sport for development (SFD) initiatives encourage these results be encouraging the development of social capital (Kidd and Donnelly, 2007; Nicholson and Hoye, 2008; Lyras and Welty Peachy, 2011; Coalter, 2013). This inquiry explored the relationship between SFD and three forms of social capital as perceived by interviewees drawn from the leaders of two such nongovernmental programs in Kigali, Rwanda. The study utilized the Networks View of social capital developed by the World Bank's Social Capital Initiative to examine whether sport for development initiatives fostered social capital (Woolcock and Narayan, 2000). According to this study's participants, such efforts did indeed promote social capital in a variety of ways, including easing ethnic divides and challenging social norms related to gender. Additionally, interviewees also suggested that SFD programs encouraged the formation of simultaneous bundles of bonding and bridging social capital among participating youth; novel and potentially powerful evidence of the efficacy of sport programming.

This study identified the relationships of student engagement with senior student satisfaction and perceived employability skills from STEM fields in the U.S. A comparison of the relationships of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills was made across senior Asian international students and their American peers in STEM programs. The National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) data (2011) was used in this study. Structural equation modeling analyses and invariance tests were employed to estimate different models of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills across different samples. The results found that both sense of support and relationships with others of emotional engagement were found the most important constructs to predict college student satisfaction and perceived employability skills. The cognitive engagement had a significant positive effect on student perceived employability skills across all college students, Asian international students, and American students in STEM education. Moreover, this study identified the mediator role of student perceived employability skills on the relationship between student engagement and student satisfaction for all three samples. Additionally, Asian international students differed from American students regarding academic involvement, participating in extracurricular activities, and sense of support in STEM education. Last but not least, this study supported that the three-dimension student engagement model developed by Fredricks et al. (2004) could apply to U.S. college students. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed and limitations acknowledged. Doctor of Philosophy It is widely accepted that attracting STEM talents to the U.S. is a key element to maintain the United States' economic supremacy and competitive advantage in a global economy. Asian international students play a significant role to maintain a steady supply of STEM talent pipelines in the U.S. job market. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationships of student engagement with senior student satisfaction and perceived employability skills from STEM fields in the U.S. This study This study was also to identify the relationships of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills across senior Asian international students and their American peers in STEM programs. The results found that both sense of support and relationships with others of emotional engagement were the most important factors to predict college student satisfaction and perceived employability skills. Cognitive engagement had a significant positive influence on student perceived employability skills across all college students, Asian international students, and American students in STEM education. Moreover, this study identified the mediator role of student perceived employability skills on the relationship between student engagement and student satisfaction. Additionally, Asian international students differed from American students regarding academic involvement, participating in extracurricular activities, and sense of support in STEM education. Last but not least, this study supported that the three-dimension student engagement model could apply to U.S. college students. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed and limitations acknowledged.

Community college transfer pathways may play a critical role in realizing broadened participation in engineering; Community colleges serve as an important access-oriented pathway through the postsecondary system in the United States, and also depend on 4-year institutions to streamline vertical transfer. The extent to which 4-year institutions are receptive to community college transfer as a viable pathway to engineering degrees may play a significant role in its efficacy. This dissertation explores a few aspects of transfer receptivity at 4-year institutions to understand how they relate to the efficacy of vertical transfer pathways in engineering disciplines. The first manuscript is a case study of an articulation agreement partnership between one 4-year institution and two public community college partners. The second manuscript examines how transfer policies and institutional characteristics of 4-year institutions in the U.S. relate to the enrollment, graduation and reporting of transfer students in engineering. I use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies across both manuscripts. The results of these studies revealed that: 1) specific challenges for transfer in engineering suggest that adequate examinations of transfer receptivity need be discipline-specific, 2) institutions encounter dissonance when simultaneously managing aims to increase access and prestige, 3) there is a need for shifts in policy and ranking systems that incentivize increases and improvements in vertical transfer, 4) there is a need for more transparency of transfer-related policies and transfer student data, and 5) our understanding of transfer matriculation remains well ahead of graduation outcomes. Doctor of Philosophy Community college transfer pathways may be critical to increasing the number of women and underrepresented minority engineers. Community colleges serve as an affordable way for students and families to begin their postsecondary education in the United States, but depend on universities to support community college transfer to complete bachelor's degrees. How well universities partner with community colleges in transfer may determine how well it works for students and families. This dissertation explores a few ways that universities encourage or discourage community college transfer as a way to earn a bachelor's degree in engineering. The first study looks closely at a transfer partnership between one university and two community colleges. The second study looks at how transfer policies and characteristics of universities relate to the enrollment, graduation and reporting of engineering transfer students. The results of these studies revealed several important themes. First, there are specific challenges to transfer in engineering. Next, institutions have a hard time increasing access to their institutions for community college students while also increasing their academic ranking and prestige. With this in mind, there is a need to shift policies and ranking systems that encourage institutions to focus more on increasing community college transfer. Next, universities need to be more transparent about their policies and data that influence transfer students. Finally, we know a lot more about how often transfer students successfully transfer to universities than we do about how many students end up graduating from the university and how long it takes them to do so.

In 2006–2007 ten public universities were utilizing responsibility center management (RCM), and that number increased to 24 in 2014–2015 (Jaquette, Kramer, and Curs, 2018), but little is known about the relationship between the implementation of RCM, faculty composition, and faculty compensation. Inequities in faculty composition and salaries exist based on gender and race/ethnicity. My study explored whether the implementation of RCM, an increasingly popular budget model in public higher education, was associated with further faculty salary and compositional inequities by gender and race/ethnicity. Deans, as heads of revenue centers under RCM, have increased budgetary power and decision-making responsibility. Organizational justice theory, specifically the tenets of distributive justice and procedural justice, grounded this study by connecting the implementation of RCM to the diffusion of decision-making throughout the organization and potential association with inequities in faculty composition and faculty compensation. This quantitative study examined the relationship of RCM with institutional average salary and numerical proportions of assistant professors on the tenure track at public, doctoral universities based on the 2015 Basic Carnegie Classification. I used difference-in-difference estimation to compare institutions that implemented RCM (treatment group) to institutions that did not (control group) to determine whether there were differences in salary and proportional trends for assistant professors by gender and by gender and race. In addition, I explored engineering in a specific set of analyses because it has been cited as a field that should especially benefit from an RCM budgeting approach. I compared the change in proportions of assistant professors of engineering by gender and by gender and race/ethnicity at universities within the sample. Finally, the annual salaries of a subset of assistant professors of engineering within the sample of doctoral institutions in the treatment and control groups in Ohio were compared. Across these different analyses, I did not find evidence that RCM implementation between FY2012 – FY2017 had a significant effect on average institutional salary generally or by gender or race/ethnicity for assistant professors broadly or within engineering, specifically. Lacking a comprehensive dataset with institutional and individual predictors of faculty compensation and composition, and as RCM models vary among institutions, these findings should be interpreted cautiously. As RCM did not appear to be associated with any changes in faculty composition or compensation practices, I did not find evidence that RCM implementation had a significant impact on the procedural justice (i.e., decision-making criteria and processes of deans or department heads) or distributive justice (i.e., salary amounts or proportions of who was hired by gender and race/ethnicity) of faculty composition or faculty compensation at public, doctoral universities. Doctor of Philosophy My study explored whether the implementation of responsibility center management, an increasingly popular budget model at public universities, was associated with differences in faculty salary and faculty numbers by gender and race/ethnicity. Deans, as heads of revenue centers under RCM, have increased budgetary power and decision-making responsibility. Organizational justice theory, specifically the tenets of distributive justice and procedural justice, grounded this study by connecting the implementation of RCM to the diffusion of decision-making throughout the organization and potential association with inequities in faculty composition and faculty compensation. I examined the relationship of RCM with institutional average salary and numerical proportions of assistant professors on the tenure track at public, doctoral universities. I compared institutions that implemented RCM to institutions that did not to determine whether there were differences in salary and proportions for assistant professors by gender and by gender and race/ethnicity. In addition, I explored engineering because it has been cited as a field that should especially benefit from an RCM budgeting approach. I compared the change in proportions of assistant professors of engineering by gender and by gender and race/ethnicity. Finally, the annual salaries of assistant professors of engineering at two universities in Ohio were compared. Across these different analyses, I did not find evidence that RCM implementation had a significant effect on salary or proportions of assistant professors; however, as my study had lots of limitations, and as RCM models vary among universities, these findings should be interpreted cautiously. As RCM did not appear to be associated with any changes, I inferred that RCM implementation did not have a significant impact on the procedural justice (i.e., decision-making criteria and processes of deans or department heads) or distributive justice (i.e., salary amounts or proportions of who was hired by gender and race/ethnicity) of faculty salary or proportions at public, doctoral universities.

The study involves a qualitative investigation of undergraduate students' experiences of helicopter parenting. Quantitative research has provided a variety of important insights into this phenomenon as far as the characteristics of helicopter parents, the nature of the helicopter parent-child relationship, and multiple outcomes of helicopter parenting for children. Little qualitative research, however, has been conducted on the general phenomenon helicopter parenting of college-aged children. Much of the phenomenon therefore remains to be investigated qualitatively for other demographic groups of undergraduate students. Purposeful sampling was used to select undergraduate students from a mid-sized, public, four-year M1 university in the mid-Atlantic region of the country. Participants were recruited via email, using a listserv that includes all undergraduate students who attend the institution. Data collection involved the use of in-depth, open-ended qualitative interviews to explore the participants' experiences of the phenomenon. A standardized, open-ended interview format was used, which involved developing all interview questions in advance and asking them in the same way and in the same order for all of the participants. A form of whole text analysis was then used to code the data and develop categories and subcategories from the resulting codes. To establish the credibility of the findings from the current study, the traditional trustworthiness criteria was used but without their commitment to a foundationalist epistemology. Several prominent alternative criteria in contemporary qualitative inquiry were used. The current study has a number of limitations, as well as a variety of potential implications for further research on the helicopter parenting of college-aged children, higher education, and qualitative methodology. The analysis yielded seven major findings: (a) helicopter parenting prior to college can take a variety of forms, (b) helicopter parenting during college can take a variety of forms, (c) other parental characteristics associated with helicopter parenting, (d) personal consequences of helicopter parenting, (e) consequences of helicopter parenting for others and relationships with others, (f) efforts to deal with helicopter parenting, and (g) goals associated with education, career, and helicopter parenting. The implications of the findings for higher education and further research and implications of the study for qualitative methodology are discussed. Doctor of Philosophy The study involves a qualitative, interview-based investigation of undergraduate students' experiences of helicopter parenting. Little qualitative research, however, has been conducted on the helicopter parenting of college-aged children, and these studies have dealt with only one facet of the phenomenon or have focused on a specific ethnic group. Purposeful sampling was used to select undergraduate students from a mid-sized, public, four-year M1 university in the mid-Atlantic region of the country. Participants were recruited via email, using a listserv that includes all undergraduate students who attend the institution. Data collection involved the use of in-depth, open-ended qualitative interviews to explore the participants' experiences of the phenomenon. A form of whole text analysis was then used to code the data and develop categories and subcategories from the resulting codes. The limitations and implications for further research on the helicopter parenting of college-aged children, higher education, and qualitative methodology are discussed. The analysis yielded seven major findings in the areas of (a) helicopter parenting prior to college can take a variety of forms, (b) helicopter parenting during college can take a variety of forms, (c) other parental characteristics associated with helicopter parenting, (d) personal consequences of helicopter parenting, (e) consequences of helicopter parenting for others and relationships with others, (f) efforts to deal with helicopter parenting, and (g) goals associated with education, career, and helicopter parenting.

Although many children enter kindergarten having some form of preschool experience, the quality of these experiences differs greatly among the programs that are available to families. This variability can create school readiness gaps, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Isaacs, 2012). Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience. Two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if any significant differences existed on measures of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills between students who attended a state-funded prekindergarten program to their peers without any prekindergarten or preschool experience. Doctor of Education Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give the students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience.

Compassion is related to the work of counselors, yet scholars have not agreed upon a standard definition of compassion beyond a superficial dictionary explanation. A Delphi study was conducted to discover the opinions of a panel of counseling experts on the subject of compassion. The purpose of the study was to identify and define compassion as it relates to the context of professional counseling, as well as identify associated skills, attributes, and behaviors. The study also explored how experienced counselors distinguish compassion as it is experienced or expressed professionally and personally. Fifteen panelists participated in three rounds of data collection via online survey. Panelists also received feedback from subsequent rounds. Themes emerged on perceptions of compassion, skills and abilities that convey compassion, situations that create compassion obstruction, and support of knowledge, training, and education on compassion. The results indicate that assumptions exist on understanding what compassion is and how to express it in a professional manner. Results further show that compassion is an understudied and unnoticed concept that needs more examination. Doctor of Philosophy People generally understand compassion to be an act of understanding the pain and suffering of another person with a desire to ease their pain. However, applying the concept to the work professional counselors do can be problematic because of the codes of conduct and principles needed to keep both the counselors and clients safe. Compassion is at the heart of counseling with the goal being to help individuals and families positively focus on their mental health to improve many areas of their lives. Currently, the counseling profession recognizes the importance of compassion but needs to research this concept more fully. This study used a Delphi methodology to learn from a group of expert counselors and counselor educators how they define compassion specific to the occupation of counseling. An additional purpose was to identify things counselors do and know that express or communicate compassion in counseling settings. The group of experts revealed that counselors know the healthy boundaries needed to keep the relationships between the client and themselves healthy. Counselors also know what may get in the way of showing or feeling compassion with their clients. The results of the study did define compassion in counseling, identified ways counselors show compassion, and helped set up a way to develop compassion over the occupational lifespan.

Environmental educators work to create an environmentally literate citizenry that is willing and able to tackle complex environmental problems such as climate change, potable water availability, and biodiversity loss. Environmental education (EE) research is a robust field that links practice and research, but lacks a comprehensive model connecting practices and outcomes. The goal of this grounded theory systematic review (GT-SR) was to create a model that identifies the context, strategies, outcomes, and core category associated with EE for secondary students in the United States (U.S.). Systematic review methods were used to locate and screen relevant, peer-reviewed research indexed in academic databases. The first search term, "environmental education," identified studies about EE. To narrow results to those focused on secondary education (grades 6–12), twelve search terms related to middle school and high school were used. After limiting the search to studies published between 2011 and 2018 and in English, 1,009 unique citation records were identified. A screening process for relevancy and quality excluded 982 records leaving 27 studies in the initial final sample. Theoretical sampling identified an additional 12 studies through a second database search and ancestry searching. Data from the 39 studies were analyzed through initial, focused, and theoretical coding using the constant comparative method. During initial coding, descriptive and In Vivo codes were used to organize the data into meaningful chunks. Focused and theoretical coding were used to further abstraction and identify categories. "Authenticity" emerged as the core category suggesting that, in order to be effective, EE for secondary students in the U.S. must be viewed as authentic in the eyes of the participants. The coding process informed the development of the Implementation of Authentic Environmental Education Programs (IAEEP) model. Although not designed to be applicable to all contexts, the model will aid EE practitioners in developing and implementing EE programs for secondary students in the U.S. and guide researchers as they evaluate EE programs. The development of the model also supports the use of a GT-SR as an appropriate and useful method for identifying, screening, and analyzing existing research to create a theoretical model. Doctor of Philosophy Environmental educators work to create an environmentally literate citizenry that is willing and able to tackle complex environmental problems such as climate change, lack of potable water, and loss of biodiversity. Environmental education research is a robust field that links practice and research, but lacks a comprehensive model that connects practices with agreed-upon outcomes. This systematic review used a grounded theory approach to create a grounded theory model that identifies the strategies, context, conditions, core category, and outcomes associated with environmental education for secondary students in the United States. Systematic review methods and theoretical sampling were used to locate and screen relevant, peer-reviewed environmental education research. Data from the primary studies were analyzed using initial, focused, and theoretical coding using the constant comparison method. Integration of data from the systematic review and theoretical sampling informed the development of the Implementation of Authentic Environmental Education Programs (IAEEP) model. This model will aid practitioners in developing and implementing environmental education programs for secondary students and guide researchers as they further evaluate environmental education programs.

In December 2015, the United States' Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, issued a directive that each branch of military avail every position to women (Pellerin, 2015). Given this and the dearth of literature on women's leader development in military environments, it was imperative to research if and how these environments shape and influence leadership development among college aged women. Specifically, this study sought to reveal women's view of self as leader in the context of a military training environment at a senior military college. The Leadership Identity Development (LID) model developed by Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen (2005) served as a framework for this study that utilized constructivist grounded theory methods for data collection and analysis as described by Charmaz (2014). The participants in this study were 21 college students who identified as women participating in a 24-hour military training program between the ages of 19 to 23 and agreed to participate in individual face-to-face interviews. Through interviews and analysis of the data, eight themes emerged from the women's experiences that revealed how they developed as leaders in the environment, and conditions that both promoted and inhibited their leader development. These themes are leadership defined, internal dialogue, strategies for managing influences, practicing leadership, context for learning leadership, external influences, internal influences, and experiences. These findings have implications for future research and practice. Doctor of Philosophy It is important to understand how college aged women develop a leadership identity in a military training environment that has historically been male-dominated. This study sought to better understand the experiences of 21 women who learned leadership in a military training environment that was a 24-hour live in experience on a campus of higher education. The women agreed to meet for a face-to-face interview that lasted approximately one hour to share their experiences. Constructivist grounded theory methods for data collection and analysis (Charmaz, 2014) were utilized in this study, and the Leadership Identity Development (LID) model developed by Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen (2005) served as a framework. I share the findings of this study and implications for future research and practice.

A number of studies have examined how counselor educators can facilitate counselor development of multicultural competence within the context of graduate counseling programs (e.g., Chu-Lien Chao, 2012; Constantine, 2001; Constantine, Juby, and Liang, 2001; Dickson and Jepsen, 2007; Sodowsky et al., 1998). Much less research has focused on counselor development occurring in students' personal lives, yet some evidence has shown that students report the impact of extracurricular experiences on counselor development (Coleman, 2006; Furr and Carroll, 2003; Rønnestad and Skovholt, 2003). Many qualitative studies have demonstrated positive effects of cultural immersion experiences, yet much less research in this area has utilized the quantitative measures related to cultural awareness. Few studies have also examined the effects of living among a different culture instead of visiting a different culture short term. After a thorough review of the literature on cultural immersion experiences, this study was designed to fill the gap that presently exists in quantitative findings exploring differences in multicultural competence and universal-diverse orientation, which is an awareness and accepting attitude for those who come from diverse backgrounds. The sample for the study consisted of students experiencing cultural immersion by means of relocation for their graduate training program. Additional analysis examined how universal-diverse orientation and duration of graduate training predicted multicultural competence scores. The results were not significant showing any differences in either multicultural competence or universal-diverse orientation scores based on cultural immersion. Similarly, no differences were found for either of these variables based on amount of multicultural training either. One finding that was statistically significant was a strong, positive correlation, as well as predictive ability, between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural knowledge and awareness. Implications of the findings could be applicable to clinicians and counselor education programs. By fostering more universal-diverse orientation, counselor educators could work towards increasing multicultural competence as well. This study was found to have some limitations, primarily a small sample size for quantitative analysis. These results do have implications for future research to continue studying multicultural competence, universal-diverse orientation, and cultural immersion. Doctor of Philosophy Much research has examined how people who train mental health professionals can facilitate counselor development of multicultural competence, an awareness for cultural differences and an ability to work with people from many cultural backgrounds. Much less research has focused on counselor development occurring in students’ personal lives, yet some evidence has shown that students report the impact of events in their personal lives on counselor development. Many studies have demonstrated positive effects of cultural immersion experiences, in which participants immerse themselves in a different culture for a time period. A few studies have also examined the effects of living among a different culture instead of visiting a different culture short term. After a thorough review of the literature on cultural immersion experiences, this study was designed to research how living among a diverse culture could result in differences in multicultural competence and universal-diverse orientation, which is an awareness and accepting attitude for those who come from diverse backgrounds. The study focused on students who moved to live in a different culture as part of their graduate training program in a counseling related field. The researcher also explored the relationship between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural competence scores. The results were not significant showing any differences in either multicultural competence or universal-diverse orientation scores based on whether or not participants had experienced cultural immersion. Similarly, no differences were found based on amount of multicultural training either. One finding that was significant was a strong relationship between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural knowledge and awareness. Implications of the findings could be applicable to counselors and counselor education programs. By fostering more universal-diverse orientation, counselor educators could work towards increasing multicultural competence as well. This study was found to have some limitations, primarily having few participants take the study’s survey. These results do have implications for future research to continue studying multicultural competence, universal-diverse orientation, and cultural immersion.

Interactive science notebooks, used as a learning tool during science instruction, was found to have a positive influence on student self-efficacy in expressing science content knowledge and interest in pursuing a STEM-related career. This study, involving 25 participants, discusses the integration of interactive notebooks into two elementary school classrooms in a rural Kentucky community over 55 instructional days. Through an explanatory sequential multiple-method research design, a quantitative survey given at two intervals, pre and post study, and qualitative student interviews, data found that 76% of the sample had an increase in their overall attitude toward science and 10 out of 12 STEM careers had an increase in overall interest at the conclusion of the study. The qualitative data, three oral interviews, revealed that 22 participants referenced an increase in science interest, two participants stayed the same, and one participant noted a decrease in interest. Nine participants felt that their interest in pursuing a STEM career remained about the same or had no significant changes since their initial survey and 16 participants referenced an increase in pursuing a STEM career in their final interview. This study aims to engage educators and administration in conversation about an explanatory sequential multiple-methods research design involving a unique population of transient students and the influence of a new learning tool used in the classroom. Doctor of Philosophy Interactive science notebooks, used as a learning tool during science instruction, was found to have a positive influence on student self-efficacy in expressing science content knowledge and interest in pursuing a STEM-related career. This study, involving 25 participants, discusses the integration of interactive notebooks into two elementary school classrooms in a rural Kentucky community over 55 instructional days. Seventy six percent of the population had an increase in their overall attitude toward science and ten out of twelve STEM careers had an increase in overall interest at the conclusion of the study. This study aims to engage educators and administration in conversation about an explanatory sequential multiple-method research design involving a unique population of transient students and the influence of a new learning tool used in the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to examine counselor's self- perceived multicultural counseling competency (MCC) between counselors working in rural, suburban and urban communities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study compared professional counselors' perceptions of their own multicultural counseling competence based on the counselor's geographic area of origin, current geographic practice setting, and counselors' intersections of identities to better understand counselor MCC as it relates to cultural diversity. Sample data was collected through professional counseling organizations in Virginia. Participants completed a demographic survey as well as the Multicultural Awareness Knowledge Skills Survey-Counselor Edition-Revised (MAKSS-CE-R) to measure self-perceived MCC. Results indicate that there was no difference in self-perceived MCC among professional counselors in Virginia based on their practice location or area of origin (i.e. hometown). However, counselor's identified race/ethnicity were predictor's of self-perceived MCC. Findings suggest that training programs may be providing adequate opportunities for counselors to develop MCC. Allowing innovative approaches through technology, consultation, and adherence to the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) could be sufficient in counselor MCC regardless of geographic practice location. Doctor of Philosophy The purpose of this study was to understand how counselors in Virginia perceived their cultural competence. The researcher examined how counselors rated their own cultural competence in relation to the geographic location in which they grew up, currently work, as well as general demographic characteristics, to better understand counselors’ competence when working with diverse peoples. Participants completed a demographic survey as well as the Multicultural Awareness Knowledge Skills Survey-Counselor Edition-Revised (MAKSS-CE-R), which measures counselor cultural competence. Results indicate that there was no difference in perceived cultural competence among professional counselors in Virginia based on the geographic area where they worked or grew up. However, counselors who identified as a racial/ethnic minority also perceived themselves as having greater cultural competency. Findings suggest that training programs may be providing adequate opportunities for counselors to develop cultural competence. Allowing creative approaches through technology, consultation, and implementation of counselor’s professional codes of ethics could be enough for counselors to feel competent when working with diverse peoples, regardless geographic practice location.

Mental health practitioners who incorporate animal-assisted interventions into clinical practice harness the human-animal bond for therapeutic benefit. According to the Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling Competencies, practitioners have a duty to understand the complex relational processes within animal-assisted interventions in counseling (AAI-C). These bonding processes may resemble that of an attachment bond in which the client desires to maintain closeness to the practitioner and therapy animal as a result of feeling safe and secure. Researchers studying attachment in the human-animal bond have stated that attachment processes may occur within other human-animal relationships, such as between a guardian and a companion animal. However, there is no empirical research on the attachment processes occurring between humans and therapy animals in AAI-C or how these processes affect the bond between the practitioner and client. A component of the working alliance, maintaining a quality bond can improve treatment outcomes in counseling. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how attachment to a therapy animal impacts the attachment bond between a mental health practitioner and client. Participants completed an online survey with four measures to study the following: (a) client attachment to the therapy animal, (b) practitioner attachment to the therapy animal, (c) the bond between the practitioner and client, and (d) the impact of utilizing an animal in counseling sessions. Data analyses included a multiple regression to determine how practitioners' perceptions of the attachment processes within AAI-C best explain the bond with their clients. Descriptive analysis revealed that practitioners perceived high quality bonding within AAI-C, particularly in their own attachment to the therapy animal. Results of the multiple regression indicated practitioners' attachment to the therapy animal was a significant predictor of the working alliance and bond between the practitioner and client. Practitioners who perceived themselves as extremely skilled in working with the clients' presenting issue also had a statistically significant effect on the working alliance and bond when compared to practitioners who felt less skilled. Implications for practitioners and counselor educators are provided. Limitations and areas of future research are also discussed. Doctor of Philosophy Mental health practitioners who incorporate animal-assisted interventions into clinical practice harness the human-animal bond for therapeutic benefit. According to the Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling Competencies, practitioners have a duty to understand the complex relational processes within animal-assisted interventions in counseling (AAI-C). These bonding processes may resemble that of an attachment bond in which the client desires to maintain closeness to the practitioner and therapy animal as a result of feeling safe and secure. Researchers studying attachment in the human-animal bond have stated that attachment processes may occur within other human-animal relationships, such as between a guardian and a companion animal. However, there is no practical research on the attachment processes occurring between humans and therapy animals in AAI-C or how these processes affect the bond between the practitioner and client. A component of the working alliance, maintaining a quality bond, can improve treatment outcomes in counseling. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how attachment to a therapy animal impacts the attachment bond between a mental health practitioner and client. Participants completed an online survey with four measures to study the following: (a) client attachment to the therapy animal, (b) practitioner attachment to the therapy animal, (c) the bond between the practitioner and client, and (d) the impact of utilizing an animal in counseling sessions. Data analyses included a multiple regression to determine how practitioners’ perceptions of the attachment processes within AAI-C best explain the bond with their clients. Descriptive statistics revealed that practitioners perceived high quality bonding within AAI-C, particularly in their own attachment to the therapy animal. Results of the multiple regression indicated practitioners’ attachment to the therapy animal influenced the working alliance and bond between the practitioner and client. Practitioners who perceived themselves as extremely skilled in working with the clients’ presenting issue also had an effect on the working alliance and bond when compared to practitioners who felt less skilled. Implications for practitioners and counselor educators are provided. Limitations and areas of future research are also discussed.

The rising cost of tuition and fees is no doubt a major contributor to rising student debt but it is certainly not the only factor. The amount of debt with which students may graduate can largely be a function of the type of institution they attend (Monks, 2014). There is a dearth of research that focuses on the institutional factors that relate to student debt consumption (Craig and Raisanen, 2014; Macy and Terry, 2007). Prior studies have shown that the amount of expenditures and the area in which an institution spends their money can impact salient student outcomes This quantitative dissertation sought to examine institutional expenditures within higher education and their possible relationship to student debt through a fixed-effects analysis that used data across a six-year period. This study examined public comprehensive master's level institutions as defined by the Carnegie Classification system. This institutional type has been overlooked within higher education research (Henderson, 2007). In short, this dissertation sought to investigate the relationship between spending within the public comprehensive master's level institution and average annual federal student loan use. This study found that there was a modest negative relationship between spending on research and academic support and student loan consumption. Spending on operation of maintenance and plant was positively related to student loan consumption. This dissertation further found that the number of students receiving the Pell grant, the percent of students that identify as Hispanic and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students were statistically significant regarding their student loan use. The percent of students receiving the Pell grant within an institution related to higher levels of student debt. The percent of students that identify as Hispanic and the number of FTEs were related to lower average levels of student debt. This study has implications for policymakers and administrators pursuing factors that reduce student loan usage and gives insight into the impacts of institutional spending. These findings also have implications for future research that explores not only institutional spending and student outcomes but also how spending may impact institutional mission and the composition of a student body. Ph. D.

The present study explored the direct influences of contextual social support, including parental involvement, perceived teacher support, and peer influence, on 11th-grade students' math achievement. The study also examined the indirect influences of these contextual social support factors on students' achievement through their math motivation in math courses. The first follow-up year data of High School Longitudinal Study of 2012 (HSLS: 09) was used for this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) served as the main statistical technique to examine the relationships among variables. The results of this study showed three sets of important findings. The first set showed that students' perception of teacher support and peer influence were significantly and directly related to students' math achievement, with the relationship between peer influence and math achievement being positive and the relationship between perceived teacher support and math achievement being negative. Controlling for other variables in the model, parental involvement was not significantly related to student math achievement. The second set of findings demonstrated that math motivation indeed plays a significant role in mediating the relationships of social support (from teachers and peers, but not from parental involvement) and student math achievement in high school. The third set of findings indicated that both family SES and prior math achievement influenced student social support and math achievement. Furthermore, two main deviations were found between White/Asian and African-American/Hispanic student models. Perceived teacher support negatively and significantly influenced White/Asian students' math achievement, but it had no significant influence on African-American/Hispanic students. In addition, math motivation had a stronger influence on the math achievement for White/Asian students than African-American/Hispanic students. The present study makes significant theoretical and practical contributions to the body of knowledge on the role of parental involvement, perceived teacher support, and peer influence on math achievement at the high school level using nationally representative data. PHD

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how Virginia counselors engage in social issues advocacy, specifically advocacy for Black/African American clients/students. Racial Identity (Helms, 1993) and Multicultural Social Justice Counseling Competencies (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, and McCullough, 2016) are used as the framework. The researcher examined whether the work setting of a counselor impacts the amount and type of involvement with race-specific advocacy and how counselors are supported as advocates in that setting. Data was collected via information questionnaires including demographic and professional background, attitudes and beliefs captured by the Social Issues Advocacy Scale, and race-specific advocacy activity. The sample included Masters-holding professional counselors practicing in Virginia and who are members of professional organizations based in Virginia. Results indicate reasons for advocating, when applicable, with or on behalf of Black/African American clients/students and a relationship with workplace setting type. Findings show that counselors feel supported by their workplace to advocate on the basis of race, however the type of advocacy varies. Ph. D.

Sense of community (SoC) positively promotes persistence and graduation rates of college students by helping them to feel cared about by others, accepted as members of the campus community, and that they matter to their peers and other community members (Cheng, 2004; Harris, 2007a; Schlossberg, 1989). The college union is one of the most influential settings in developing SoC (Barrett, 2014; Janisz, 2014; Maxwell, 2016; Smyth, 2016) and improving student persistence (Tierno, 2013). However, scholars and educators lack understanding of the ways in which the physical and organizational environments of college unions contribute to SoC development among students. The purpose of this narrative study (Clandinin, 2013) was to understand the role of the college union in developing SoC among college students. Anchored in a modified version of Strange and Banning's (2015) campus ecology framework, the study explored how physical and organizational environments within a college union influenced the community conditions necessary for supporting the educational purposes of student engagement and learning. To understand the role of the physical and organizational environments of the college union in students' SoC development, this study used photo-elicitation methods and semi-structured interviews with seven participants from one large, public, historically White university with high research activity. Students' stories revealed a College Union Sense of Community (CU-SoC) Actualization Model in which students progressed through developmental stages: feeling overwhelmed initially, connecting with campus sub-communities, building localized community, and deepening connections and strengthening bonds with administrators and peers. By progressing through these stages, students developed a SoC toward the institution. The data also highlighted how the college union's physical and organizational environments advanced the SoC development process by creating a home-like feeling, encouraging and enhancing interactions through design, cultivating lasting memories, and nurturing a student-centered culture. These findings represent a narrative account describing the students' personal experiences in relation to how the college union shaped their SoC. Ph. D.

This dissertation explores the concept and development of metacognitive social justice through three manuscripts. The first manuscript defines metacognitive social justice through an extensive literature review from prominent social justice scholars and theorists to find common themes that either explicitly or subtly permeate social justice content. Drawing from theory and empirical data, the first manuscript provides a foundation of this cognitive process that is relatable to all social justice scholarship, defining cognitive common ground. The themes found across the literature can be distilled to four metacognitive attributes found in "social justice thinking": (1) self-awareness through consciousness-raising, (2) value in the narratives of others, (3) awareness of unseen forces, and (4) questioning historical origins or intents. The second manuscript is a qualitative analysis of the perception of self- proclaimed social justice thinkers, exploring how they define 'social justice thinking' and the role it plays in their daily choices and decision-making. Through thoroughly coded and analyzed transcripts of one-on-one, semi-structured interviews, this manuscript explores three other emergent themes of action, discomfort and community, as a well as the need for developing social justice thinkers, and highlights significant connections to the attributes in the first manuscript. The third manuscript is a detailed description of the development of the metacognitive social justice survey for college undergraduates, a psychometric instrument designed to measure the metacognitive social justice attributes in individuals described in the theoretical manuscript. The instrument was found to be increasing in quantitative validity through two exploratory factor analyzes (EFA) with still room for improvement. Drawing on the questions developed so far, a final version of this psychometric instrument will provide a snapshot of what metacognitive social justice attributes are found in undergraduate classes and potentially to what extent. This is the first edition of the instrument, with the idea that the instrument should be ever evolving, becoming more accurate and valid, and carefully reworded for different audiences beyond college undergraduates. Ph. D.

Wellness has become an increasingly important paradigm for counseling and clinical supervision. A heightened focus on counselor wellness in supervision has emerged as an intervention to improve quality of care to clients and prevent counselor impairment. Although researchers have examined the benefits of wellness interventions in supervision, we have little understanding of the supervisor's ability to model wellness to their supervisees. Nor have researchers shown how a supervisor's wellness influences supervisee wellness—and if and how the strength of the supervision relationship changes this influence. Thus, the purpose of this quantitative investigation was to (a) analyze the role of modeled wellness as a way for supervisors to influence the multifaceted aspects of supervisee wellness, and (b) identify if the factoring in the supervisory relationship changes this influence. This quantitative study included a sample of 105 counselor education students enrolled in practicum or internship courses who were receiving supervision from a site-based supervisor. Results indicated that supervisee personal wellness was influenced by the supervisee's perception of supervisor wellness. Certain second-order factors of perceived supervisor wellness (Creative and Coping Selves) were more predictive of the corresponding factor of supervisee personal wellness. When the strength of the supervisory relationship was considered, the model became more predictive despite the lack of correlation between the strength of the supervisory relationship and supervisee personal wellness. Results from this investigation suggest that the supervisory relationship can act as a suppressor variable, controlling for error in the equation and making the perception of supervisor wellness a more valid predictor. A subsequent correlational analysis suggests that the error in prediction was primarily in supervisory relationships of moderate strength. The combination of the supervisee's perception of their supervisor's wellness and the strength of the supervisory relationship predicted 9% of the variance in supervisee wellness. Implications for counselors, supervisors, educators, and policy are discussed. Limitations and recommendations for future inquiry are highlighted based on the findings from this investigation. Ph. D.

The present and increasingly globalized environment of commerce and information has created the need for a workforce adept at global citizenship (Reimers, 2009). As a demand for global citizens has increased, higher education has responded by developing 21st century workforce competencies among its students (NAFSA International Strategic Plans and Mission Statements, 2012). Study abroad is one of the means employed by higher education to increase students' global competency (Carlson, Bum, Useem and Yachimowicz, 1990). This study explored the relationship between demographic characteristic, and personal, social, and academic experiences of students with respect to predicting propensity to study abroad. Prior research has focused on each of these factors individually while this study explored the influence of these factors collectively on the likelihood to study abroad. Factors were defined by variables measured by the 2014 National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) (NSSE, 2014). The data analyses included a combination of independent sample t tests, one-way ANOVAs, and linear regression. The results revealed that gender, race, major, and SES are good predictors of participation in study abroad. Additionally, academic collegiate experiences germane to diversity and societal awareness increased propensity to participate in study abroad. Ph. D.

There is national attention and concern from industry leaders, educators and politicians that the United States will not be able to maintain its competitive edge due to the lack of students prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Hurtado et al., 2008; Kuenzi et al., 2006; Kuenzi, 2008; Laursen et al., 2010). Student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE), has been shown to be a high impact activity leading to greater student interest in STEM careers. A closer look is needed to get an idea of what types of experiences during UREs impact a student’s interest in persisting into a STEM field career and to understand what are the key mechanisms of the experience that make it meaningful. The findings in this study add to the literature by exploring participants views of the undergraduate research experience at non-doctoral-granting universities and by supporting the idea that UREs can be effective in these settings as well. Further, this study puts forward a theoretical explanation about how and why UREs promote a student’s interest in persisting to a STEM field career. The purpose of this qualitative study using critical incidents was to identify experiences during a URE that students perceived to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify causal mechanisms for why these experiences made a difference in their interest. This study was designed to use a qualitative approach consisting of individual interviews and a focus group with a total of 31 participants from three institutions to identify and come to a more complex, multi-layered understanding of the undergraduate research experience. A card sorting technique where participants assigned each card to the encouraged an interest, deterred an interest, neither encouraged nor deterred an interest, or did not experience category was used initially to generate a conversation about what individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Follow-up interview questions guided the participant in explaining the incident and how and why it impacted their interest in a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that all participants began their URE with an interest in science. No one set of critical incidents was identified to encourage or deter an interest as the same incident could have positive and negative outcomes. Because of the initial strong interest in science, incidents identified in the literature as deterring an interest in STEM often served to help participants refine the field or topic in STEM they wanted to pursue rather than causing them to leave STEM altogether. The individual critical incidents during the URE in totality, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career. It is a combination of multiple experiences or events that help students gain a greater sense of self and to refine career and research opportunities. The main contribution of this study is a theoretical model of the mechanisms by which a variety of incidents during a URE can impact an interest in STEM. This model identifies underlying causal mechanisms on how UREs can promote an interest in STEM. The model is similar to a grounded theory model in that it highlights student characteristics, contextual factors, mechanisms, and outcomes that help to refine STEM field career interest. The URE incidents in totality provide mechanisms resulting in outcomes that refine a career interest in STEM. As all participants were still involved in their URE, this study is limited in that we do not know with any certainty if the participants will enter a STEM field career. Future research designed with a longitudinal time frame could follow participants throughout the URE then into their career thus allowing greater understanding as to why some students may choose to leave the STEM pipeline. In-depth case studies would allow for testing of the conceptual model to identify turning points in an interest in a STEM field career and how interests in a STEM field career are refined. Further, case studies would allow researchers to compare the conceptual model in different settings. The goals of UREs can be advanced in settings where there is a central organizing office on campus that makes visible that the institution values research and STEM and creates opportunities where students can to connect to a wider community of researchers. Faculty mentors guiding UREs can advance a commitment to pursue science by continually articulating the importance and wider social significance of the research. Further, faculty mentors play an invaluable role by providing information about the range of opportunities to pursue research, connect students with other research, and encourage URE student attendance at professional conferences in order to begin identification with a wider community of like-minded individuals. Ph. D. Educators, industry leaders and politicians are concerned about the lack of students prepared for STEM field careers and the United States being able to maintain its competitive edge globally. One opportunity to prepare students for STEM field careers is through student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE). This study was designed to identify and understand critical incidents in undergraduate research experiences that students perceive to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify why these experiences made a difference in their interest. An incident sorting process was used to identify individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Participant interviews and a focus group were conducted to understand how and why the identified experiences had a bearing on the student deciding to pursue a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that incidents during the URE combined, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career.

Several positive student academic outcomes are associated with women's college attendance, yet little is known about how women's college students make meaning of classroom practices, experiences, and interactions. The purpose of this study, a qualitative research endeavor in the hermeneutic phenomenological tradition, was to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the lived classroom experience at a women's college and the meaning women's college students made from their everyday lived classroom experiences. The sample consisted of 10 participants at a single women's college in the southern region of the United States who had completed at least 60 credit hours at the institution and were enrolled as full-time residential students. Data were collected through a series of three interviews conducted with participants and reflection essays authored by participants. Study participants described the women's college classroom environment as a place where professors encouraged student participation in classroom discussions and where students could voice ideas, experiences, and uncertainties in an accepting space. The women's college students in this study indicated they received individual reaffirmation and intellectual validation from professors and peers, and over time became more likely to take risks with their thinking, aloud, in the classroom environment. Study participants made meaning from their classroom experience by actively reflecting on how these experiences fostered personal growth, comparing lived experiences to preconceptions, and imagining how their undergraduate experience would have been different had they chosen to attend a coeducational college. Ph. D.

More than 5,000,000 post-9/11 service members are expected to transition out of the military by 2020 due to a reduction in the size of the U.S. military and presence in Iraq and Afghanistan (American Council on Education, 2014). As these service members separate from the military many will choose to enter some form of postsecondary education. The literature across the past decade has not changed in its recommendations on how to serve student veterans. If campus administrators expect to support veteran students in their transitions, they need empirical research about the transition experiences of veteran students and not rely on best practices that are not supported by empirical evidence. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the transition experiences of Post-9/11 student veterans from a military setting to a college setting. The study used grounded theory methods to systematically review the literature about the transition of student veterans from the military to a college or university and create a conceptual framework for this study, or the Student Veteran College Transition Model (SVCTM). The SVCTM showed what strategies used by college and university administrators during a veteran's transition to college promote positive transition outcomes for student veterans within a number of conditions and contextual factors. This qualitative study used a modified version of Seidman's (2013) phenomenological interviewing and collective-case study. Semi-structured interviews provided data for the study. Findings of this study confirmed previous research that student veterans experience a challenging transition from the military to college and that military and veteran student offices and veteran student organizations play an important role in the transition for student veterans. The findings also included that the conflict between military, civilian, and academic cultures disrupted student veterans' ability to adapt to their new role as civilian and student. To combat this conflict, student veterans turn to family and other veterans internal and external to the college provide support during the transition from the military as they integrate their military, civilian, and academic identities. Ph. D.

Extending far beyond migration to a new home, the cultural, emotional, and mental plight of immigration plagues immigrants and refugees of all ages. Nonetheless, immigrant youth are commonly overlooked in acculturation studies. This mixed methods approach to arts-informed research examined the acculturation strategies adopted by immigrant and refugee youth attending community-based programs. Through the use of participant drawings, the think-aloud technique, and the Acculturation, Habits, and Interests Multicultural Scale for Adolescents (AHIMSA) instrument, this research also examines the ways in which immigrant and refugee participants communicate their cultural paradigms. The findings emerging from this study illustrate that immigrant and refugee youth cope with cultural transitions through varied approaches that integrate expressions of individuality and cultural behaviors. By exploring six key findings, this study contributes to literature examining acculturation in youth populations as it provides an analysis of cultural transition that expands beyond traditional examinations of cultural behaviors, and highlights the importance of expressing individuality, values, and interests, in the acculturation process of immigrant youth. Ph. D.

This study examined the relationships between math engagement, teacher quality, school factors, and math achievement in middle school students. This study used the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data from the 2007 wave. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results EFA and CFA showed that students’ engagement in math classrooms consists of three dimensions: behavior, cognition, and emotion. The results provided evidence in supporting the multidimensional theory of student engagement, and provided a well-developed instrument that could measure students’ math engagement. The findings of HLM analysis indicated that students’ emotional engagement had a positive association with math achievement. In addition, teacher content knowledge displayed a positive effect on achievement, and teacher subject knowledge preparation and students’ emotional engagement showed an interactional effect on achievement. What’s more, school SES was a significant factor that influences math achievement. The findings suggested that students’ math achievement was not only related to students’ engagement, but also varied across class and school level factors. The study had both theoretical and practical significance, providing valuable insights for math education and math learning. Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of front-line faculty members in the United States related to quality and quality management in higher education. The study's three research questions were: (1) How do front-line faculty members in the United States define quality in higher education? (2) How do front-line faculty members in the United States describe how quality in higher education should be measured? and (3) Assuming that quality management activities will continue to be mandated by external and internal entities, what do front-line faculty members in the United States believe could be done to make quality management activities more meaningful to front-line faculty members? The research design for this study was a basic qualitative study with a constructivist interpretive framework. Maximum variation sampling was utilized and data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with 20 front-line faculty members who worked at three different types of higher education institutions located in Virginia: (1) a public, research-extensive university; (2) a public, comprehensive university; and (3) a private, liberal arts college. The constant comparative method was utilized throughout the data analysis process and served as the basis for the study's thematic analysis. The primary finding for Research Question 1 was all 20 faculty participants defined quality in higher education either partially or solely in terms of student outcomes. These outcomes included student learning outcomes, vocational outcomes, and contribution to society outcomes. In regards to Research Question 2, many participants believed that student growth should be a primary indicator of quality in higher education; measuring quality in higher education is difficult; and measuring quality in higher education is necessary or important. Multiple participants expressed dissatisfaction with the indicators currently used to measure quality in higher education. For Research Question 3, participants shared 24 specific barriers they believed prevented quality management activities from being meaningful to front-line faculty members. Participants also shared 24 specific implementation strategies for how quality management activities could be more meaningful to front-line faculty members. These results have multiple implications for future quality management policy, practice, and research. Ph. D.