Title | Date | Views | Brief Description |
Unsettling professional code: relationship boundaries and ethical possibilities |
2015 |
1769 |
My dissertation addresses ethics in social professions through a conceptual and empirical study of how professional boundaries and codes organize relationship. Central research questions include: "How might one's sense of responsibility to another pe... |
How do personal and professional experiences influence second-career alternatively certified teachers’ decision to stay in teaching? |
2018 |
842 |
The purpose of this study was to examine the personal and professional experiences of successful second career alternatively certified teachers who stay in teaching beyond the four years required to obtain a professional license in North Carolina. In... |
How public school leaders are responding to charter schools |
2019 |
537 |
The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived impact of charter schools on school systems located in rural areas and to learn what strategies school leaders are using to compete with charter schools. Across the country, charter school grow... |
Investigating teacher preferences for teaching in charter schools and the democratic implications of those decisions |
2019 |
310 |
The purposes of this study were to determine why teachers chose to leave the traditional public school to teach in a charter school and also how teachers understand the role of schooling in a democracy. In this qualitative study, I interviewed ten te... |
Digital connection in a physical classroom: clickers and the student-teacher relationship |
2015 |
1466 |
Education is fundamentally relational, and the student-teacher relationship is central to student learning. However, high-enrollment classrooms, now common on college campuses, limit student-faculty interaction and opportunities for relationship buil... |
The significance of gospel music to social activism in North Carolina |
2016 |
2110 |
Using qualitative research methods and social movement theory, I explored the significance of gospel music to the Forward Together Moral Movement in North Carolina and the meanings the singers who perform the music apply to their roles and contributi... |
Disrupting masculinity and patriarchy: stories of men transforming |
2019 |
2826 |
The purpose of this research was to study how work with men to understand the social construction of their own identities can contribute to creating a more socially just society. In this critical qualitative study eight participants of a critical, pr... |
An exploratory study of social justice education in residence life |
2019 |
847 |
In this dissertation, I explored how residence life professionals are teaching social justice. Using critically informed qualitative methods, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 student affairs professionals who are responsible for ongoing... |
The perceived impact of an arts-integrated curriculum on the academic achievement of fifth- and sixth-grade students with disabilities |
2019 |
711 |
Teachers’ instructional methods are not meeting the unique learning needs of students with disabilities. Drawing on the arts is one possible beneficial avenue for these students to engage and develop content area understanding. In this exploratory qu... |
White teachers navigating race in elementary classrooms: portraits of possibility |
2019 |
627 |
Studies that document white teachers struggling to see whiteness and minimizing the impact of race on the quality of education are plentiful in the research literature. Much is known about white educators who activate and rely on defenses such as res... |
Assessing charter school choice in North Carolina: an analysis of the factors that impact student enrollment decisions |
2019 |
438 |
Families in the United States have more options with school choice than ever before; one option that exists is charter school. But within this free market education system, is school choice fully open to everyone? Unfortunately, current data suggest ... |
The moral and ethical challenges of principal data-driven decisions about annual growth data |
2019 |
224 |
The purpose of this research was to determine the moral and ethical challenges principals face when making data-driven decisions guided by annual growth data. Annual growth data is the metric implemented by the North Carolina Department of Public Ins... |
What does CRT have to do with a roof?: critical race spatial praxis – an equity approach to institutional planning, college design, and campus space |
2020 |
1348 |
Educational settings are an under-examined mechanism of social reproduction. “Hidden” in plain sight, college space is embedded with socializing messages that pass largely unacknowledged. So commonplace are the spatial arrangements of classrooms, caf... |
Leadership practices that build a positive school culture |
2021 |
419 |
Serving as an elementary school principal has given me the unique opportunity to shape the culture of our school. Serving as a woman in a school leadership role has also made me curious about how other women lead to improve school culture. Are they i... |
Barriers that limit Black women from rising to central office leadership positions in K-12 school systems |
2021 |
957 |
This study is an examination of the barriers that prevent Black women from rising to central office leadership positions in K-12 school systems. Black women do not have a clear path to educational leadership positions like many of their White counter... |
Culturally responsive teaching in the classroom |
2021 |
279 |
The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges and successes that educators encounter when incorporating Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI) in their classrooms. I conducted a basic qualitative study involving four teachers and two adm... |
To be first : exploring experiences of first-generation college students at Hamilton University |
2021 |
550 |
First generation college students continue to grow in number on college campuses across the United States. As college becomes more accessible, students who would be first in their families to attend and graduate with a four-year degree are taking adv... |
Lived experiences of African American administrators at predominantly White institutions |
2021 |
548 |
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of African American administrators – particularly in relation to upward mobility, perception of value, and challenges faced – who are employed by predominantly White institution... |
The integration of church and state : an examination of rural school and church partnerships |
2021 |
158 |
Though faith-based organizations provide a unique opportunity for rural public schools to share responsibility for student success among community stakeholders, partnerships between public schools and churches in the twenty-first century are complex.... |
The impact of charter schools on rural traditional public-schools and their communities |
2019 |
402 |
Much of the research surrounding charter schools has focused on examining the achievement of students in charter schools and exploring the impact of charter schools specifically in urban areas. More charter schools have opened in recent years in rura... |
Education of women in leadership: learning the new role of political candidate |
2019 |
313 |
Women are underrepresented in leadership across all sectors of our society – education, business, non-profits, and politics – leading to inequitable representation and inadequate outcomes. In order to recruit and retain more women in leadership, we n... |
The challenges of neoliberalism to the democratic promises of higher education |
2020 |
680 |
Neoliberalism is a far-reaching ideology that has impacted public higher education since its inception. This ideology poses significant challenges to historic and contemporary promises of public higher education. In this paper, I explore the complex ... |
The journeys of three international teachers working in North Carolina public schools |
2022 |
237 |
This dissertation concerns the experiences of international teachers working in North Carolina public schools. As I began exploring this unique population's literature, I realized my limited knowledge about their personal and pedagogical acclimation ... |
Examining motivations of Black males to become elementary school educators |
2023 |
287 |
There are very few Black male educators who work in the elementary setting. In fact, most Americans will never experience having a Black male as a teacher during those formative years. Existing research around Black male educators heavily revolves ar... |
Trauma-sensitive schools: a look at the Public School Forum of North Carolina's Resilience and Learning Project |
2021 |
868 |
The landmark Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study of 1997 brought attention to the negative long-term impacts of trauma, but only in the past five years has momentum built around infusing trauma-sensitive (TS) policies and practices into public s... |
Discourse surrounding culturally responsive leadership : how school principals implement change |
2022 |
404 |
The central purposes of this research study were to understand how school principals define and enact culturally responsive leadership (CRL). I was also interested in the challenges they have experienced in trying to lead in culturally responsive way... |
Teacher retention : who stays, who goes, and what can we do about it? |
2023 |
103 |
This study, a qualitative, practitioner inquiry, utilized Purkey and Novak’s Invitational Theory and Nasib’s Human Relations Theory to illuminate and examine the experiences of teachers and school leaders in a rural, Title I laboratory school in an e... |
Speaking truth to power from the margins : the experiences of Black women faculty at PWIs and the additional weight of the pandemic and social unrest of 2020 |
2023 |
91 |
Speaking Truth from the Margins: The Experiences of Black Women Faculty at PWIs is a qualitative study that examines the lived experiences of tenured and tenure-track Black women faculty as they navigated predominantly white institutions (PWIs) prior... |
“It’s complicated” : Black people who are social justice oriented and have a tension-filled relationship with the Black church |
2024 |
135 |
The purpose of this research project was to shine a light on Black people who are social justice oriented and have a current tension with the Black church. I address two overriding research questions: Why do Black people who are social justice orient... |
Underexplored barriers, facilitators, and benefits in a district-university tutoring collaboration |
2024 |
114 |
High-impact tutoring also known as high-dosage tutoring (HDT), is distinct from general tutoring. As a model, it consists of practice guidelines around training, frequency, and length of tutoring sessions. This approach is integrated with the school ... |