1825 research outputs found
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For Black College Students Who Considered Dropping Out When Grit Wasn’t Enough: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring the Influence of Family Messaging on Collegiate Outcomes
Full text linkBlack college student outcomes are well researched areas in education literature. This dissertation sought to explore the influence of academic and ethnic racial socialization on experiences of shame and guilt and examine the association of those relationships on Black college student retention and persistence. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to investigate the socialization experiences of 272 Black college students in the US. Conditional process model analyses revealed that academic socialization is associated with experiences of guilt and shame—guilt predicted improved retention outcomes, while shame predicted lower retention outcomes. The analysis also revealed that while ethnic racial socialization moderated the relationship between academic socialization and shame/guilt, it did not moderate the relationship between academic socialization and retention or persistence.
The major themes that emerged from the interviews included “Diamonds Are Made Under Pressure—Sociocultural Messages That Led to Experiences of Shame and Guilt,” “Birth Order and Gender Roles,” “I Almost Dropped Out—Experiences that Endangered Their Persistence,” “Me, me, me . . . messages about identity,” and “Support, In and Outside of Family.”
Combined, these findings highlight the interplay of socialization processes in Black families, the effect of those socialization processes on experiences of shame and guilt in Black families, and the result of those relationships on college persistence and retention for Black students. Recommendations for future research with Black students and families were made and implications for campus-based practitioners and clinicians were suggested. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)
The Lived Experience of Fly Fishing and its Significance for Cultivating a Communion of Subjects
No full textInspired by the lived fly fishing experiences encountered with my grandfather and the spiritually ecological writings of Thomas Berry, I explored how the sacred art of fly fishing connects participants with the natural world from a universal perspective given to us by Thomas Berry in The New Story. Berry described three principles that make up the entire universe: Differentiation, Subjectivity and Communion. I wanted to understand how lived fly fishing experiences fit into Berry’s three universal principles and how an individual’s lived fly fishing experience(s) cultivate(s) a “Communion of subjects.”1 Answers to these two questions informed five initial approaches to consider when constructing an eco-contemplative fly fishing community practice where children, adolescents, and adults embody a sense of the sacred while they grow, heal and establish bonds of intimacy within nature. Researched within a phenomenological paradigm and hermeneutic phenomenological approach rooted in everyday lived experience, this dissertation explores the lived experiences of seven past and present fly fishers. Uncovered primary essences and supporting attributes describe the depths of their lived fly fishing experiences within the backdrop of Berry’s three universal principles. The words and phrases all expressed by the seven fly fishers, reveal blueprints to create eco-contemplative fly fishing community practices in any 1 Thomas Berry, Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community (Sierra Club, 2006), 149.v bioregion which supports native fisheries thriving in wild waters flowing through wild nature. Eco-contemplative fly fishing community practices offer us one way forward to become part of a “communion of subjects” while we contribute towards a more regenerative society. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd)
From Rural Roads to College Credits: Understanding Dual Enrollment in New Hampshire\u27s Rural High Schools
No full textDual enrollment programs vary significantly across states, schools, and districts, leading to inconsistent college readiness outcomes. While previous research primarily examines differences at the state level, little is known about how these programs operate within rural high schools in the same region. This study examines dual enrollment in four rural high schools in New Hampshire using a multiple-case study approach and thematic analysis. Data was collected through interviews with administrators, faculty, counselors, and alumni, along with reviews of public documents. Six key themes emerged: (1) Barriers to Dual Enrollment, (2) Conflicting Perspectives of Key Players, (3) Benefits of Dual Enrollment, (4) Dual Enrollment Program Weaknesses, (5) Opportunities for Improvement, and (6) AP Courses and Dual Enrollment: Opportunities and Perceptions. The findings show that even within a single rural county, dual enrollment is influenced by school resources, staffing, partnerships, and perceptions of rigor, highlighting the need for more equitable and consistent practices. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)
The (White) Elephant in the Room: A Qualitative Critical Whiteness Study of Two Inclusive Leadership Programs
No full textA Participatory Action Research Exploring Results of Explicit Instruction of Open Task Problem-Solving Through a Mathematical Mindset
Full text linkWith local assessments showing mathematical achievement below 50% and an increasing need for problem-solving mathematicians, this dissertation investigates instructional methods in math, emphasizing problem-solving skills and fostering mathematical mindsets. The goal was to measure math achievement from the beginning to the end of the year after a Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle at a rural Vermont school serving approximately 600 students from Pre-K through eighth grade. The population in this school is diverse in SES but lacks significant racial and ethnic diversity. Boaler’s (2022) Mathematical Mindset Framework is the underpinning of this Participatory Action Research (PAR), providing the foundation for the action steps and observing potential shifts in math practices, mindsets, and academic assessment scores. Literature supports the implementation of mathematical mindsets to improve math achievement (Boaler, 1998, 2002, 2013, 2022; Boaler & Staples, 2008; Boaler et al., 2015) due to the redundancy of themes in mathematical mindsets and other frameworks for math improvement. For example, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) International Results in Math (Mullis et al., 2021) show that Singapore has maintained dramatic improvements since shifting its instructional focus to problem-solving, building conceptual understanding, and developing strong computational fluency, all components of a mathematical mindset. The intention of PAR recruiting participants as collaborators enables learning while simultaneously researching the action steps. Three iterations of data collection and analysis were conducted in a plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycle, followed by a collaborative data analysis. PAR is a democratic research method that enables practitioners to act as researchers, facilitating small-scale social changes. If one teacher and researcher can find a way to improve instructional practices, then future students will also benefit. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)
Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning Intervention on Parents and Its Impact on Family Well-Being
No full textThis study examines how Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)-based parent education can bridge cultural divides and strengthen family-school partnerships in increasingly diverse educational settings. Conducted at an independent California elementary school where student demographics shifted to become more diverse in the last ten years, the research addresses a critical gap: while parent education is essential to child development, it remains overlooked in SEL implementation. The research investigates whether Western-based SEL frameworks, which emphasize individualism, can effectively support families from collectivist cultures. Through the EQ Gym program—a culturally responsive parent education initiative—the study explores three key questions: how school-based SEL research can address parenting needs, how centering social-emotional topics builds parental awareness and efficacy, and how SEL interventions enhance parents’ connections to others and their school community. Using a mixed-methods approach with 14 participants (43% U.S.-born, 57% immigrants from China, India, Iran, and other countries), the study reveals transformative outcomes across multiple dimensions. Parents shifted from control-oriented to connection-oriented approaches, moving from behavioral directors to facilitators of their children’s emotional development. The program fostered unexpected personal growth, with participants applying SEL concepts to professional settings, spousal relationships, and self-development journeys beyond their original parenting goals. The research demonstrates that effective parent education requires meeting parents at their entry points and addressing immediate daily challenges while building communities of practice that normalize struggles and leverage collective wisdom. Through the ecological model of human development, findings show how SEL operates across multiple system levels: transforming direct parent-child interactions (microsystem), transferring skills across life contexts (mesosystem), and challenging conventional child-centered approaches by recognizing parents as developing individuals alongside their children (macrosystem). In an era where AI threatens to replace authentic human connection, this study positions parent education as “technology-resistant work” that preserves humanity’s advantage in emotional intelligence and social skills. The findings suggest SEL-infused parent education can serve as a throughline connecting various systems toward an ecosystemic view of well-being, with implications for program design emphasizing cultural responsiveness, incremental skill-building, and structured reflection opportunities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)
Exploring the Imposter Phenomenon among Spanish ESL Doctoral-Level Psychology Students
No full textIn this study, I examined the impostor phenomenon experienced by bilingual Latina/o doctoral-level psychology students with English as a second language (ESL) who attend predominantly White institutions. To address the lack of literature, I explored how individuals perceive and cope with experiences generated by cultural, linguistic, and racialized academic environments, using the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven participants completed demographic questionnaires, CIPS screening, and semistructured interviews. I analyzed participants\u27 narratives in an Adlerian framework, emphasizing inferiority, belonging, and purposeful thriving. Findings demonstrated impostor feelings were prevalent. Students experienced multiple challenges when attending mainstream programs. Despite varied backgrounds, participants’ narratives illustrated how language acquisition affects their interactions with peers and faculty who identify as predominantly White and outlined emerging coping mechanisms. Results suggested racial inequity, microaggressions, and high expectations increased the likelihood of participants feeling like a fraud and “othered” in academic settings through lack of representation in peers or faculty. Impostorism feelings can arise because the culture shapes students\u27 persona in response to the interactions in early academic experiences
Not Everyone Had Glass Slippers: A Black Feminist Trauma-Informed Literary Analysis of Cinderella, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland
No full textThis dissertation reimagines Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland through a Black feminist, healing-centered lens to examine how Black girls and women have been erased, misrepresented, and silenced within dominant literary traditions. Through creative retellings, cultural remembrance, and critical analysis, it introduces the Soulforger, a new archetype and methodological figure who refuses erasure, reshapes silence, and forges meaning out of rupture and scar. Developed uniquely within this study, Black Feminist Trauma-Informed Literary Analysis merges Black feminist theory with transformative approaches, material culture, and embodied knowledge to position storytelling as both scholarship and transformation. The retellings—Mari’Ella: A Black Cinderella, Sola and the Seven Wise Women (Snow White), and Ayendé and the In-Between (Alice in Wonderland)—are narrated from the perspectives of Black girls navigating silence, shapeshifting, and survival. Mari’Ella, dedicated to the author’s grandmother, who described herself as a “Black Cinderella,” honors the resilience, memory, and quiet strength passed through generations. Sola emphasizes wisdom, collective care, and resistance as an alternative to isolation, while Ayendé journeys through the liminal and in-between spaces of identity, voice, and power. Together, these retellings resist canonical erasure by claiming fairy tales as sites where Black girlhood is not only visible but also transformative. Sacred objects and rituals, such as the Black baby doll in Mari’Ella, operate as symbolic threads of inheritance and ancestral memory, grounding Black girlhood as a living archive. A memoir section, rooted in the author’s relationship with her grandmother, illuminates the intergenerational rituals that preserved a story without words, holding silence as both a wound and a witness. By reframing fairy tales as cultural texts that reflect both harm and healing, this work contributes to Black feminist literary studies by introducing the Soulforger as a new literary and theoretical figure. It demonstrates that creative storytelling is not only a legitimate scholarly method but also a practice of liberation. Ultimately, this dissertation affirms that Black girls and women are not peripheral characters in others’ stories; they are creators and claimants of their own myths, memories, and survival. This dissertation is available in open access AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)
Stigma of Obesity and Healthcare Utilization
Full text linkThe impact of personal factors on healthcare utilization is an essential area of research to improve overall health outcomes among the population. This study explored the relationship between perceived stigma and healthcare avoidance among men and evaluated the relationship between self-reported body mass index (BMI) and avoidance of healthcare appointments due to weight-related stigma and other reasons. This study found no significant relationship between BMI and avoidance of preventive medical appointments due to perceived stigma. However, men from all weight categories endorsed avoiding preventive healthcare appointments due to weight-related reasons and for other reasons. This study explored the reported reasons for missing preventive medical appointments, such as time constraints, financial concerns, and perceptions of healthcare advice. Additionally, this study emphasized the need for healthcare providers to address weight bias and stigma, as well as other pragmatic obstacles for all categories of weight to reduce patient avoidance and improve patients’ experiences at preventive medical appointments. While this study had several limitations, multiple areas for further research are proposed to support providers in decreasing the avoidance of healthcare appointments for men. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https:aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https:etd.ohiolink.edu