Theses and dissertations published by graduate students in the Department of Educational Leadership and Workforce Development, College of Education, Old Dominion University, since Fall 2016 are available in this collection. Backfiles of all dissertations (and some theses) have also been added.
In late Fall 2025, all theses will be digitized and available here. In the meantime, consult the Library Catalog to find older items in print.
Theses/Dissertations from 2025
Dissertation: The Impact of North Carolina State Aid on Community College Students, Wesley Rhea Armstrong
Dissertation: Persistence and Completion Rates of Community College Students: The Impact of Receptivity to Social Engagement Scores Compared to Recorded Cocurricular Activity, Nancy Wagner Boylan
Dissertation: Contemporary Student Activism in a Digital Age, Jennifer Kristen Cohen
Dissertation: Toward More Challenge-Engaging STEM Students: A Narrative Inquiry into Student Persistence in the Face of Failure, Stephanie R. Fahey
Dissertation: A Comparative Case Study on Special Education Administrator’s Education and Experience: Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Support Provided to Probationary Special Education Teachers, Diane Smith Glover
Dissertation: Historic Bedrocks of Volunteer Recruitment: Collaboration Between the Peace Corps and Higher Education Partners, Melanie Elizabeth Graham
Dissertation: From Gamers to Professionals: A Case Study on the Role of Esports in Developing Employability Skills, Anthony Mark Gray Jr.
Dissertation: Mapping Perspectives: Community College Career Advisors’ Viewpoints for Enhancing Economic Mobility and Career Selection—A Q Methodology Study, Christopher Ryan Harrison
Dissertation: Analysis of Industry Recognized Credentials That Lead to Quality Employment for High School Graduates, Teri L. Harris
Dissertation: Pillars of Purpose: Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Faculty Viewpoints on Retention, Garry Brandon Hensley
Dissertation: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Workforce Learning and Development: A Systematic Review, Mildred V. Jones
Dissertation: Navigating Recovery: Community College Student Journeys Through Collegiate Recovery Programs, Eric Scott Klein
Dissertation: The Impact of Success Coaching on Psychological Well-Being and Sense of Belonging in First-Year College Students, LaShay Y. McQueen
Dissertation: From First-Generation to Flourishing: Exploring the Influence of Academic, Social, and Deeper Life Interactions in Higher Education, Melissa Jean Overton
Dissertation: The Relationship Between Tutoring and student Success and Retention Among Men of Color Enrolled in Community College STEM Gateway Courses in Upstate New York, Elizabeth Mary Eloise Richards
Dissertation: Graduate Students’ Perspectives on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) 3.0 Guidelines: A Q-Methodology Study, Taylor C. Rodriguez
Dissertation: Black Students with Disabilities in the Virginia Community College System, David Jerome Sultzer
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
Dissertation: Decriminalizing Academia: Black First-Generation Community College Students in Unsatisfactory Academic Standing, Gerome Maurice Bell, Jr.
Dissertation: A Graceful Pedagogy: An Approach to Academic Advising Diffracted Through Love for Equitable Support of Students Identifying as Black and Male at Two-Year Community Colleges, Ian Kelso Bodkin
Dissertation: Workforce Education and Labor Market Demands for North Carolina Community Colleges, Christina Anne Bunch
Dissertation: The Phenomenology of Experiencing Critical Thinking in Vocational Higher Education, Sean Castleberry
Dissertation: "Every Direction We Turn, It’s a Wall”: North Carolina School Counselors and Their Advocacy and Support for Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education, Wendy Eberhart Cook
Dissertation: A Review of Secondary Technology Education Teacher Needs in Virginia, M. Kathleen Ferguson
Dissertation: 3/5ths of Freedom: The Analysis of {With} Black Individuals in Higher Education and Navigating Society Post-Justice-Involvement, Gabrielle Sarah Smith Finnie
Dissertation: Unveiling Resilience and Motivation through Testimonios: Exploring the Influence of TRIO Student Services on Motivation and College Completion, Emily Leonard Garrison
Dissertation: What's the Cost?: A Phenomenological Study of Black Male Teachers' Persistence, Kendra Yvonne Hall
Dissertation: An Examination of the Perceptions of Campus Safety Among Full-Time Faculty at Virginia Community Colleges, Hailey Ann Hermosa
Dissertation: Navigating Identity and Belonging: Itinerant Teachers of The Deaf/Hard of Hearing and the Blind/Visually Impaired as Structural Hole Spanners in Educational Ecosystems, RJ Horstmyer
Dissertation: Institutional Responses to the First Amendment: Inclusivity and the Protection of Free Speech Rights on Campus, Christina LiPuma
Dissertation: The Shared Experiences of Novice, Full-Time Allied Dental Community College Educators, Misty L. Mesimer
Dissertation: Work-Life Balance Fantasy Logics of Mothers Working in Community Colleges: A Glitch Methodology Using Intimate Inquiry and Aesthetic Mediation, Emily Hanson Moore
Dissertation: Short-Semester Courses: Mitigating Unfavorable Precollege Issues for Students at a Technical College, James T. Moore Jr.
Dissertation: Competing in the Stress Olympics: Mid-Level Managers and their Experiences of Work Stress as Impacted by their Supervisors and Organizational Climate, Melissa Jane Hecker Scott
Dissertation: Institutional Pressures on School Leadership and Innovation After Pandemic-Related School Closures: A Phenomenological Study, Gary Eugene Skeen
Dissertation: A Comparison of Specialized and General Orientation Courses for Community College Students, Heather R. Sorrell
Dissertation: Transforming School Leadership: An Examination of the Impetus and Evolution of an Internal District Principal Preparation Program, Whitney Szoke
Dissertation: The Practices of Instructional Design at Community Colleges: A Post-Qualitative Study of the Mutual Invisibility of Work, David Robert Niebuhr Tod
Dissertation: Literacy Leadership: Power in the Discourse of Learning, Melissa Guinn Crawley Twisdale
Dissertation: Community College Student Affairs Professionals’ Perceptions of Their Supervisor’s Authentic Leadership: The Influence on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment, Brent Lamar Via
Dissertation: A Rural Return: The Triumphs and Trials of a School District's Return to In-Person Learning, Jason Alex Wheeler
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Dissertation: The Implications of Dual Enrollment Participation on Black/African American Students’ Success, Yousef Abraham
Dissertation: Emotional Intelligence in Difficult Decision-Making: A Multiple-Case Study of Community College Academic Deans, Ekaterina Kalinina Brooks
Thesis: An Evaluation of Network2work at Piedmont Virginia Community College, Cynthia M. Finley
Dissertation: Special Education Fiscal Effort and Juvenile Adjudication: A Financial Relationship Exploration, Sarah E. Finley
Dissertation: Strategies That Contribute to the Sustainability and Success of Community College Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs, Amy Lovin Henecke
Dissertation: Chinese International Graduate Student Agency in a Neo-Racism Context: A Narrative Analysis, Minghui Hou
Dissertation: Community College Academic Advisors’ Considerations of Ethical Issues Related to the Use of Learning Analytics, Anna Elizabeth Jones
Dissertation: An Ethnographic Case Study Exploring Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, James H. Jones Jr.
Dissertation: Factors Influencing African American Women to Attend a Rural Community College and Persist to an Associate Degree, Lorraine Anita Justice
Dissertation: Public School Superintendents in Virginia: Innovating in the Educational Context, Daniel Firing Keever
Dissertation: The Effects of Self-Regulated Learning on Community College Students Metacognition, Motivation and Achievement in Geoscience Courses, Melani A. Loney
Dissertation: The Role and Contribution of Rural North Carolina Community Colleges in Social Capital Development, Tanya J. McGhee
Dissertation: LMS Problem-Posing Academic Relationships Between Faculty and Students: A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Study of Dialogical Relationships in Asynchronous Online Courses, Sheri L. Prupis
Dissertation: Examining the Relationship Between Spelling Achievement and Academic Achievement in Community College Students, Tambra Lee Riggs-Gutiérrez
Dissertation: Exploring Learning Experiences of Community College Faculty Short-Term Study Abroad Leaders Using IPA and Visual Research, Rachel Ann Simpson
Dissertation: Relationship Between Learning Communities and Campus Residency on Sense of Belonging Among First Year Undergraduates, Lanah Kathryn Stafford
Dissertation: The Currency of Teacher Trust in Working Conditions for Teacher Retention, Jeanette White
Dissertation: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Recent Educational Foundations Requirements by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education for Program Directors of Physical Therapist Assistant Programs, Sharan Dawn Zirges
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
Dissertation: The Creation of Successful Student Subjects: Foucault’s Power/Knowledge Framework and the Danger of Failing Early Alert, Sue Ann Cecilia Curran
Dissertation: Enrollment Management Strategies as a Result of COVID-19 at Rural Community Colleges, Robin Christine Daniel
Dissertation: Case Study of a District-University Partnership: Developing Culturally Responsive Educators in a Rural Setting, Trenice Shauntel Durio
Dissertation: Active Military Student Persistence in Online Courses at California Community Colleges, Stephanie E. Gernert
Dissertation: Work Beyond the Work: Amplifying How Black Women Educators Experience Teacher Preparation Programs, Chéleah Victoria Googe
Dissertation: Instructional Staff Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Leadership, Sherrell J. Hendrix
Dissertation: Underrepresentation of Black Males in Gifted Education: A Phenomenology Study of the Underrepresentation of Black Males in Gifted Education, James A. Holemon Jr.
Dissertation: Hiding In Plain Sight: A Phenomenological Exploration of Black Male Educators in School Leadership, Jeryl Kimbrough-Scott
Dissertation: Investigating the Process of Consequential Validity with the Ambassador Questionnaire, Melissa Gayle Kuhn
Dissertation: Combining Cognitive and Noncognitive Assessments to Predict First Year GPA and Persistence in Community College Students, David Harris Larman
Dissertation: The Relationship Between Optional Developmental Education Enrollment and the Mathematics Achievement of Students at One Community College in Florida, Andrea Lisa Lee
Dissertation: Human Resource Officer's Perspectives on Recruitment and Hiring Practices of Diverse Candidates, Tara Kelton McDaniel
Dissertation: Understanding Superintendents’ Approaches to the Implementation of District Systems in the Context of a Crisis, Jarad C. Munroe
Dissertation: The Lived Experiences of Students in a Summer Bridge Ninth Grade Transition Program: A Phenomenological Case Study, Ricardo C. Randall
Dissertation: Values and Power as Levers to Influence Accountability Policy in Virginia: A Case Study, Angela M. Rhett
Dissertation: "Quality-Less” Higher Education: Relationship and Neocolonialism in International Development in Afghanistan, Wolayat Tabasum
Dissertation: Faculty Perceptions of Teaching Clinical Reasoning at the Patient Bedside, Rebecca Gale White
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Dissertation: The Use of Counter Narratives as a Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Communications-Based Measure: A Study of Muslim-American Undergraduate Students in Universities and Colleges in California, Mohamed Ahmed
Dissertation: Promise, Potential, Opportunity: Successful HBCU Presidential Fundraising Strategies, Felicia D. Blow
Dissertation: The Puente Project: Bridging the Achievement Gap for Latinx Students, Nelly Fabiola Brashear
Dissertation: Undergraduate Classroom Incivility from the Faculty Perspective, Erin M. Bunton
Dissertation: Faculty Member Experiences When Identifying and Addressing Prohibited Speech in the Classroom, Scott Jeffrey Bye
Dissertation: Narratives from Appalachia: The Current Stories of LGBTQ Community College Students, Todd A. Cimino-Johnson
Dissertation: Measuring Up: A Case Study of School Finance Equity Among Five Middle Schools, Christen A. Cohoon
Dissertation: Making It to the Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense of Grade Retention Policies for English Learners, Lynmara Colón
Dissertation: Institutional Context Drives Mobility: A Comprehensive Analysis of How Academic and Economic Factors Relate to International Student Enrollment at United States Higher Education Institutions, Natalie Irby Cruz
Dissertation: School Finance Equity: An Intradistrict Equity Audit, Nicole Kathryn Duplain
Dissertation: Perceptions of Secondary Administrators: Looking at Their Experiences and Practices Supporting Science Instruction, Venicia Ferrell
Dissertation: A Narrative Inquiry of Long-Term Learning Outcomes of Community College Education Abroad, Heidi Fischer
Dissertation: Exploring the Incongruence Between Traditional Neo-Managerial Norms, the Science of Learning, and the Goals of Social Justice: A Phenomenological Study of Educators Lived Experiences Inside This Paradox, Donica Ouckama Hadley
Dissertation: A Grounded Theory Qualitative Study of Assistant Principals as Instructional Leaders in the High School Setting, Mary F. Hardesty
Dissertation: Institutionalized Perceptions of Student Behavior and the Student Conduct Paradigm Shift in Virginia’s Public Schools, Tiffany D. Hardy
Dissertation: Experiences of Low-Income Student-Parents at a Community College During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, Marlena Yvonne Jarboe
Dissertation: A Comparison of Impostor Phenomenon in Community College and Public University Students, Shanda Jenkins
Dissertation: Culturally Responsive School Leaders: Actions, Barriers and the Impact of Critical Self-Reflection, Dawn Louise Kramer
Dissertation: Creating Conditions for Collaboration: A Case Study on Design-Based Professional Learning, Leslie A. Lehner
Dissertation: The Pursuit of Equitable Virtual Learning: District Leaders’ Understanding of the Influences on Designing 100% Virtual Learning Experiences During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Kathleen Wolfe Maxlow
Dissertation: The Role of Community College Faculty in Encouraging Student Enrollment Following Dual Enrollment Participation, Kathryn Page Moore
Dissertation: Leading Hispanic Serving Community Colleges: Latinx Faculty Perceptions about the AACC Competencies, Sanjuanita Chavira Scott
Dissertation: Exploring the Role(S) of Community Colleges in Addressing Wicked Problems Through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Sustainability, Samantha Bryant Steidle
Dissertation: A Narrative Study of the Experiences that Disrupt or Terminate Entry in the Community College Presidential Pipeline for African American Women, Dana G. Stilley
Dissertation: Investigating Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of the Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study, Valerie Sledd Taylor