This dissertation explores the development and implementation of a contextually relevant leadership development program aimed at fostering the growth of academic advisors at Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC), particularly those with aspirations for leadership roles within the advising domain. Recognizing the important role of academic advising in student success and the often-overlooked need for professional development among advisors, this study introduces an innovative approach to cultivating leader identities and enhancing the leadership skills of academic advisors with an authentic leadership lens.Utilizing an action research case study methodology, this dissertation details the creation, execution, and evaluation of a two-phase innovation. The first phase involves the collaborative development of a mentoring workbook by senior advisors (SAs), designed to guide less experienced academic advisors in a structured mentoring relationship focused on the core values of the office. The second phase operationalizes this workbook in mentoring relationships, offering SAs the opportunity to practice and refine their leadership skills. Theoretical underpinnings from authentic leadership and leader identity theories serve as the foundation for the innovation, emphasizing the significance of authentic leadership behaviors and the process of leader identity development within the specific organizational context of MLFTC. This study contributes to the understanding of how deliberate, contextually informed interventions can support the professional growth of academic advisors and the cultivation of leader identities and highlights the potential for such innovations to enhance not only individual careers but also the broader academic advising profession. Through qualitative and quantitative data analysis, findings demonstrate that the innovation positively influenced the SAs' development of leader identity and authentic leadership traits. This research underscores the importance of providing academic advisors with opportunities for leadership development, advocating for a more holistic approach to supporting the professional growth of student service professionals. Future implications for the field of academic advising, leadership development, and higher education administration are discussed, offering insights into the application of such innovations in similar contexts.

As schools continue to focus on outcome-based instructional practices, less emphasis is placed on the creativity and reasoning necessary for students to become effective critical thinkers. As a result, students struggle to demonstrate creative problem-solving skills in the classroom. This study examines how the facilitation of an instructional problem-solving intervention, Creative Cognitive Process Instruction (CCPI), can foster creativity, improve student metacognitive regulation, and support students in developing problem solving strategies. Participants included (n = 33) 7th grade science students in a California public middle school. Mixed methods were used to assess how and to what extent CCPI changed students' metacognitive regulation and attitudes and approaches to creative problem solving. Outcomes from this study indicate that a structured approach to problem solving along with creative and metacognitive instruction and a scaffolded support system had a positive impact on students' creative problem-solving perceptions and abilities. Notably, students demonstrated an attitudinal shift from “getting the work done” to “getting the work done well”, corresponding with a focus on understanding the problem followed by an improvement in solution synthesis. Students also demonstrated improvement in comprehension and metacognitive planning abilities, divergent thinking, their perception of science, and their self-perceived competency in science. This research may suggest how to enhance classroom practices to facilitate a more creative and engaged problem-solving mindset, foster the implementation of creative problem-solving strategies in the classroom, and support existing theories of the intersectionality of metacognition and creative problem solving.

The aim of this study was to explore how counselors of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused out-of-school time (OST) program understood ways to support students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) and STEM identity development, as well as the impact on counselors’ awareness of their own SEL and STEM identity. To do this, I developed the STEM-Social Emotional Learning for Facilitators (STEM-SELF) intervention. The STEM-SELF intervention focused on 1) implementing a series of workshops; 2) engaging counselors in a cycle of praxis as they created and implemented experiences for students; and 3) engaging counselors in reflection on the learning gained within the program context and in their own personal context. For the intervention, I used a professional learning community (PLC) to engage counselors in cycles of praxis and designed learning activities based on Knowles’ (1980) principles of adult learning. The content counselors learned focused on STEM identity theory, the SEL framework developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), and modification of the Ways of Being model. The design was a primarily qualitative action research study and data collection and analysis happened in stages that aligned with the stages of implementation of the STEM-SELF intervention. Data included counselors' reflective journals and one-on-one interviews; the analysis was based on a reflexive thematic analysis approach. The study concluded that counselors gained confidence in facilitating SEL and STEM identity development activities and their understanding of SEL and STEM identity became more refined. Counselors also reflected that their learning was directly applicable to their contexts outside of the OST program. Additionally, counselors' awareness of their own SEL increased, and their conception of what made someone a “STEM person” changed.

One of the primary aims of this action research study was to understand what happens when engineering faculty, staff, and faculty mentors engage in a professional development opportunity focused on improving instructional practices and faculty-student interactions. Since action research is aimed at using innovation to engage with a local problem of practice, for this research a Teaching Community of Practice Virtual Book Study (TCPVBS) innovation was designed, implemented, and studied. This study utilized a qualitatively driven Mixed Methods Action Research (MMAR) approach. Using Communities of Practice and Expectancy Value Theory as the primary guiding theoretical frameworks, the TCPVBS innovation was designed to prioritize a learner-centered approach, fostering collaborative knowledge construction among participants on book study topics through learning materials designed to promote an inclusive lens. Participants in the study included faculty, faculty mentors, and staff at Southwest University, primarily in the College of Engineering. Data was collected in the form of pre- and post-surveys, meeting artifacts, a focus group, semi-structured individual interviews, and reflection journals. A thematic analysis was conducted using codebooks. The study concluded that a faculty book study was a valuable learning opportunity for teaching professional development. Further research is needed to understand how instructional practices and student outcomes are impacted by the TCPVBS innovation. Implications for future research related to engineering faculty culture and embedding an inclusive lens are presented and discussed.

This action research study, informed by qualitative critical bricolage methods explored immigrant-origin adult learners’ lived experiences around education. It examined a California community college’s practices and campus climate that hinder adult immigrant learners’ equitable access to and success in postsecondary education. In an attempt to humanize and decolonize the “traditional” research processes, six immigrant-origin adult students on the Central Coast of California participated as co-researchers in a cycle of Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), which served as the innovation within the overall action research. The CPAR innovation aimed to raise immigrant-origin adult learners’ critical consciousness through their five-month-long participation in art-based autoethnographic inquiries and praxis. Through the exploration of their community cultural wealth, the goal of the CPAR innovation was to empower immigrant-origin adult learners to build local capacity for solutions. The CPAR team initiated collective action to improve campus climate and services by sharing their stories through an on-campus exhibit. The study revealed tremendous strengths and resilience of the participants and their communities. The study also found systemic barriers as well as personal and situational factors that affected their educational journeys. The barriers included past traumas, family and work responsibilities, as well as biases and inequitable practices in the education system. Recommendations for educational institutions include (a) training educators on trauma-informed approaches; (b) implementing culturally and linguistically responsive and contextualized instruction and knowledge assessment; (c) making support programs inclusive, adult-focused and stigma-free; (d) valuing students’ aspirational, familial, and social capital; and (e) expanding distance learning opportunities through improving technology access and academic support for online students. Study findings suggest that critical consciousness develops in a complex way and that collective efficacy and opportunity structures support student agency toward equitable academic access and success.

In an era of educational transformation, teacher leaders play a pivotal role in facilitating systemic change within schools. This dissertation presents a single-case action research study investigating the support structures provided by a Team Lead Communities of Practice (TL CoP) to nurture teacher leaders. The primary aim of this research is to explore the effectiveness of the TL CoP in supporting teacher leaders at one school site. Utilizing qualitative data from interviews, participant journals, researcher memos, and agendas, this study captures the perspectives of team leads of interdisciplinary teams. The findings emphasize the need for flexible support systems tailored to the unique challenges teacher leaders face. Offering teacher leaders agency in their learning is paramount to their success. Additionally, structured time for collaboration and problem-solving within the TL CoP is crucial. One significant revelation is the importance of role clarity. Team leads need a clear understanding of their responsibilities to effectively lead teams and drive systemic change. This research contributes to the literature on educational leadership by highlighting the vital role of teacher leaders and the potential of TL CoPs in supporting their development. It advocates for the creation of such communities as a promising strategy to empower teacher leaders, providing them with essential support, dedicated collaboration time, and role clarity. As schools evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century, the insights from this study offer guidance for educational stakeholders seeking to cultivate a culture of leadership and foster systemic change through teacher leadership.

The importance of teacher collaboration and professional growth are highlighted by their inclusion in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In ESSA, it is recommended that teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate and participate in learning communities. The purpose of this action research study was to address the problem of practice of a lack of teacher collaboration and professional learning community (PLC) at Sun Valley High School (SVHS); a 9th-12th grade public school in southern California. Through previous cycles of research, an online collaborative space to foster and support teacher collaboration was created; the PLC Team Hub. This study examined the attitudes and experiences of three teachers participating in a first-year, cross-curricular PLC Team and their interaction with the PLC Team Hub. Data gathered includes survey data, teacher interviews, audio of PLC Team meetings, teacher-generated artifacts, and digital researcher journal. Results suggested that the PLC Team Hub was effective in facilitating teacher collaboration and communication for these teachers. Further, teachers reported that they observed evidence of cross-curricular student engagement and learning as a result of their participation in the PLC Team Hub. Recommendations focus on the future of the innovation and the need for institutional and administrative support to continue the PLC Team Hub at SVHS.

The purpose of this action research study was to improve the implementation of a large-scale redesign of teacher preparation programs at Arizona State University. This was a highly complex redesign that impacted over 150 courses across 27 programs, involving more than 200 faculty and 2,500 students annually. As a result, implementing the redesign posed significant challenges for supporting fidelity and agency across all faculty involved, including many part-time faculty and new hires with no prior knowledge of the redesigned program curricula. While this challenge was not unique, I approached it in a novel way in this action research study by creating course “fact sheets” that provided simple, visual representations of each course’s intended purpose within the program’s context to solve what was fundamentally an information transfer challenge. To study the effects of this intervention, I used a convergent mixed methods approach to address three guiding research questions aimed at exploring (1) how faculty used the course fact sheets, (2) how that use related to differences in outcomes related to implementation fidelity and sense of teaching agency, and (3) how those differences compared to an online orientation module as a more traditional form of professional development. Results showed that a majority of the 122 faculty members surveyed used the course fact sheets and, on average, found them highly usable for the purpose of gaining knowledge about their courses as part of the redesign. Furthermore, those who used course fact sheets had significant increases in their knowledge and confidence of implementation fidelity practices and significant increases in their sense of teaching agency. The results also showed more positive outcomes for those using the fact sheets than those who participated in an orientation module. However, interview results suggested that the fact sheets may not have been enough to address all the factors that influence faculty agency. Nevertheless, this study has important implications for faculty development initiatives in higher education, demonstrating the potential of course fact sheets as a scalable solution to improve the implementation of large-scale redesigns.

One of the primary research aims of this study was to create a more culturally responsive course curriculum that is inclusive of diverse perspectives to better engage with an increasingly diverse student population. This small-scale study utilized an Action Research (AR) approach. Using Critical Race Theory as the primary guiding theoretical framework with the support of both the Social Cognitive Career Theory and Systems Theory Framework, this study sought to interrogate a major and career explorations curriculum through a culturally responsive lens. The goal of the interrogation was to make changes to the curriculum and implement a more inclusive curriculum. Participants in the study included faculty associates and students of the UNI150 Major and Career Explorations course located within The College at Arizona State University (ASU). Data was collected in the form of surveys, focus groups, student artifacts, lecture observations and analytical memos from the researcher. The AR study included two initial cycles of research and the intervention. The intervention consisted of two phases of data collection and data analysis. A thematic analysis was conducted using codebooks. The study concluded that it was necessary to make changes to the UNI150 curriculum and that modifications like these have the potential to create systemic change. More data is needed to understand the impact of collaborative curriculum redesign and the impact of implementing a culturally responsive curriculum. Implications for future research related to interrogating and implementing a redesigned curriculum through a culturally responsive lens are presented and discussed.

Utilizing action research and a qualitative research study design, the purpose of this study was to glean how participation in the Building Community Through Discourse Intervention (BCTD intervention) influenced the cultural and social awareness of six Development and Alumni Relations (DEVAR) managers at The University of California, Davis (UC Davis). To investigate DEVAR managers’ comfort, knowledge, and skills discussing and advocating for diversity and inclusion (D&I), the BCTD intervention featured four topical units: racial issues in the workplace, privilege issues in the workplace, identity issues in the workplace, and applying theory to practice. Over ten weeks, DEVAR managers were required to read assigned chapters from So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, watch proposed videos related to D&I, maintain a participant journal to reflect on their experiences throughout the study, and engage in bi-weekly focus group discussions hosted via Zoom to review the prescribed learning material. Guiding the study were two theoretical frameworks: Communities of Practices and a Pedagogy of Discomfort. Through narrative analysis, a storytelling approach was used to present the findings of the study based on four themes derived from the data: the impact of fear on managers’ willingness to advocate for D&I, the importance of dialogue and the role of time in the learning process, and the need for more skills to adequately apply learning to practice. The study discovered that the BCTD intervention improved the comfort and knowledge of DEVAR managers to discuss and advocate for D&I. However, the study did not favorably affect their ability to transfer their increased understanding of the challenges of diverse staff to their managerial practice. Subsequently, as academia and private businesses alike begin to place a greater emphasis on social justice, implications for future research entail: expanding the length of time to conduct a similar situated or designed study to focus on providing participants with enhanced learning opportunities to improve their ability to apply their learning to practice, in-person focus group discussions as opposed to Zoom, and increased representation amongst study participants to enhance the richness of shared experiences.