Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

There are systematic barriers to educational equity in the U.S. higher education system, and the system overwhelmingly fails Latinx undergraduates more often than other students. It is crucial that evidence-based methods be used to reduce the existing postsecondary student success inequities. Scholars have linked specific educational practices to positive learning effects. A growing body of evidence has suggested these educational practices, coined high-impact practices (HIPs), provide amplified benefits to historically underserved students (HUS) and may be an effective tool for advancing equity and closing achievement gaps. The extant literature has neither adequately explained the reason(s) that HIPs provide an academic boost to HUS nor described their lived experience. Such qualitative research is important for understanding how HIPs contribute to HUS' learning and engagement, better support student success, and address inequities. Through narrative inquiry and inductive/emergent analysis, this study explored the lived experience of Latinx in HIPs at a 4-year public university. Deductive/a priori analysis drew from two theoretical frameworks: validation theory and cultural capital. This study investigated several guiding questions: In which curricular experiences do Latinx undergraduates experience the deepest learning and engagement? To what elements or aspects of the experiences do Latinx undergraduates attribute the learning and engagement? What are the key validating experiences or experiences that recognize/reward cultural capital? Findings revealed five major course elements as associated with deep learning and engagement: professor behaviors or traits, real-world and relevant content, preparation for future or career, relationships with peers, and diverse perspectives. A key implication for practice is that faculty are central to student success and through the application of teaching and curricular elements, every academic course can ensure deep learning (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Laurien Alexandre PhD (Committee Chair); Jon Wergin PhD (Committee Member); Marisol Clark-Ibáñez PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Hispanic Americans; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

This dissertation focuses on teacher commentary as formative assessment and as collaborative dialogue that actively engages both teacher and student writers in conversations about the writing. Student voices are emphasized throughout this teacher research study of two classes at a Midwestern community college, a study that explores what the FYC student writers want and value in teacher commentary as they write and revise. With a particular research project acting as the contextual “center” of the dialogue, multiple data collection instruments were employed, including: student-generated texts and self-assessments, pre-and post-project questionnaires, personal interviews, and personal observations and reflections from teacher and students. Analysis of this data draws upon feminist theory, grounded theory and an ethnographic perspective to discover, describe, and assess the multiple and varied contexts surrounding student writing and revising as well as student values within these complex contexts. I argue that students do value the collaborative dialogue, interactions and formative assessment found in commentary that gives the students a voice in their own writing and revising, and I further argue that this intentional and rhetorical response to student writing sends a powerful message to those student writers about what we in the field of Rhetoric and Composition truly value in writing.

Committee: Lee Nickoson (Advisor); Melissa Miller (Committee Member); Kristine Blair (Committee Member); Sue Carter Wood (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Theory; Literacy; Pedagogy; Rhetoric; Teaching

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

The mental health and well-being of college student-athletes has recently come to the attention of the general public with the increase in current and past athletes speaking out about the stressors they faced during their collegiate careers. With this increase in attention, higher education institutions and larger athletic associations have turned towards research to identify factors that are contributing to the struggles of student-athletes. One factor that has consistently been identified as a barrier for athletes seeking help for mental health concerns is stigma. For male student-athletes in particular, perception of the stigma associated with receiving psychological help due to conformity to masculine norms has consistently been found to be a deterrent for help-seeking behaviors. While many studies have drawn this conclusion, they have failed to separate the student-athlete from their athletic environment and explore how an athlete's values and attitudes may differ and interact with that of their sport. This exploratory study aimed to examine if there was a difference between the strength of the relationship between a male athlete's personal value versus perceived value of masculinity of their sport with their attitudes towards mental health help-seeking. Additionally, the ability for personal value of masculinity and perception of sport's value of masculinity to predict male student-athletes' attitudes toward mental health help-seeking were explored. Through the use of an online survey, participants completed demographic questions, as well as questions from the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF), Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI), and an adapted version of the CMNI that was specifically tailored to ask questions regarding athletes' experience in their sport. Results indicated a negative relationship between male student-athletes' personal value of masculinity and attitudes towards mental health help-se (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kathi Borden Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Karen Meteyer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rachel Chickerella Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Mental Health; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology

PHD, Kent State University, 2021, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

This interpretive qualitative study examined how professional socialization experiences shape the student affairs specialty choice of higher education and student affairs (HESA) master's-level students. This research utilized Perez's (2014) conceptual model to comprehend participants' socialization, sensemaking, and self-authorship as they reflect on HESA contemporary skills and values and their influence on preferred functional area for their first full time position. Data were collected from 13 participants enrolled in a HESA graduate preparation program at a Midwestern university through a sequence of document analyses and virtual, semi structured interviews. Findings of this study showed that participants deemed navigating HESA interpersonal dynamics; understanding logistics and planning to ensure quality and intentional work; and developing and using research and resources to be essential skills. Holistic college student development—tiered at academic-, human-, and identity-based needs—social justice and inclusion, synergistic supervision, and work-life wellness emerged as contemporary values of HESA work. Participants identified their preferred functional area (student affairs specialization) in relation to their experiences under a HESA mentor/role model, sharing social identities with students whom they serve, and their exposure to different student-facing and non student-facing career opportunities. This study holds important implications for future HESA graduate students in terms of how they (a) engage in the career decision-making process throughout their coursework and fieldwork, (b) build their professional competencies, and (c) make their specialty choice. For faculty and fieldwork supervisors alike, considerations for student/supervisee experience redesigns and future research to bridge the gap between student affairs and specialty choice research are provided.

Committee: Tara Hudson, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Mark Kretovics, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Mark Savickas, Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2014, School Psychology

This paper reports on results from a survey administered at one public and two private high schools in order to explore possible school climate differences between these school types. The school climate survey was given to groups of freshmen and senior students at each school, and focus groups were also conducted to gather qualitative data. Results were analyzed via one-way analyses of variance across different grouping categories, including between schools, between schools/between grades, and within schools/between grades. Data analysis outcomes showed significant differences on all survey domains for both the between schools and between schools/between grades grouping categories, with the private school students rating school climate higher than the public school students on nearly all survey domains. This paper discusses the implications of these outcomes while also addressing limitations of the study, and presents several directions for future research.

Committee: Susan Mosley-Howard Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Education; Education Philosophy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Educational Policy and Leadership

This study examined the impact on student humanitarian values of two different approaches to the undergraduate liberal arts college core curricula. One institution required a traditional course distribution requirement to meet the core curriculum requirements (N = 54). One institution required the traditional course distribution requirement and a supplementary curricular intervention strategy that emphasized examination of personal values and the values of other individuals and groups (N = 59). Data were obtained using a nonrandomized comparison-group pretest-posttest design. The Schwartz Value Survey was the measurement instrument. Students at the two universities were pretested in the first week of the second semester of enrollment, at the beginning of the four-course intervention sequence. Students were posttested at the two universities at the conclusion of the fifth semester of enrollment and at the conclusion of the fourth course in the intervention sequence. Results revealed supportive evidence for the hypothesis that the students required to complete the traditional course distribution and supplementary curricular strategy humanitarian values increased more than students required to complete only the traditional course distribution. However, the weight of the evidence did not support unequivocally that the specially designed curriculum was solely responsible for the student humanitarian value pretest-posttest differences.

Committee: Robert Rodgers (Advisor) Subjects: