As the culminating experience of their graduate programs and with the guidance of the faculty, PhD students in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis are producing dissertations which contribute to the knowledge base regarding education and offer important insights about improving educational practices and policies. Listed below are ELPA PhD graduates with links to their dissertations.
12/2023 Laurie Burgos
Leading a Contracorriente (Against the Current): An Examination of District-Level Dual Language Program Leader Equity Leadership Practices in a Midwestern State
12/2023 Viola Miller
Unraveling the Impact of Community College Mentoring Programs on the Experience of First-Generation Transfer Students at Four-Year Institutions
12/2023 Tiaira Porter-Beal
Understanding Departmental Climate and Retention Among Women of Color STEMM Faculty:
A Mixed Methods Study
8/2023 LaShawn Washington
“Let Love Lead”: An Ethnographic Investigation of Relationships, Praxis, and Love Within a Black Women-Led Leadership Program at a PWI
8/2023 Paris Wicker
“Who Gets to Be Well”? A Multi Method Social Network Analysis of Well-Being for Black and Indigenous College Students
5/2023 Samuel Coleman
Leading to Eliminate Racial Inequities in Student Experiences, Opportunities, and Outcomes: A Case Study of the Personal and Professional Experiences of K-12 School Leaders
5/2023 Scott Everson
Student Perceptions of Grading Reform at the Secondary Level
5/2023 Erin Hastey
How Do We “Make Sure that Everything We Do, We Have Students at the Center”? Reimagining Community College Board Effectiveness for Students’ Success
5/2023 Abby Koberstein
Equity in Suburbia: White Educators’ Sensemaking of Equity
5/2023 Paul Kirby Livingston
Context Matters: Culturally Inclusive and Equitable Pedagogies Across Instructional Contexts in Undergraduate Education
5/2023 Walter Parrish
“I Love the Work, but I Hate My Job”: A Critical Narrative Inquiry on Academic Bullying Among Faculty at Four-Year Institutions
5/2023 Sylvia Ramierz
Working Toward a Degree: The Relationship Between Campus Employment, Student Engagement, and Academic Outcomes for Community College Students
5/2023 Yasmin Escutia Rodriguez
A Testimonio Study: Latinx Women Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences and Teacher Identity Development
5/2023 Megan Schmid
Faculty Identity in Higher Education: Beyond Research, Teaching, and Service
5/2023 Tarryn Lael Simmons
HBCUs UnHushed: Transformative Spiritual Resilience Within the Life Histories of African American Graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
5/2023 Anne Stahr
Mentoring Faculty for Teaching in Academic Medicine
5/2023 Xiwei Zhu
Developing Community College Faculty Toward Inclusive Approaches to Teaching: Institutional Support, Pedagogical Transpiration, and Faculty Assets
12/2022 Sherri Cyra
Perceptions of Professional Development Impact:
White Educators’ Racial Identity Development and Anti-Racist Practice
12/2022 Megan Arens
Tier 2 at the Middle Level: the Role of the RTI Team in Building a Sustainable System
12/2022 Hyunwoo Yang
The early childhood education in public education – motivation, workforce, and effects
12/2022 Changhee Lee
Rethinking Equity and Innovation in Education: A Systematic Approach to Mapping and
Evaluating Innovative Educational Initiatives
8/2022 Elizabeth Hrodey
The Use of School and Classroom Interventions to Prevent the Misidentification and
Overrepresentation of Black Adolescents in Special Education
8/2022 Kathlyn Stebbins-Hinz
Leadership in Service of “At-risk” Students: Lessons from Alternative High Schools
8/2022 Ayesha Inayat
BRIDGING GAPS: FACULTY PERSPECTIVES ON ENHANCING THEIR TEACHING
AND THEIR IDEAS FOR HIGH QUALITY FACULTY TEACHING DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS IN PAKISTAN
8/2022 Lydia Gandy-Fastovich
Special Education Through the Parent Lens: Experiences, Expertise, and Hope towards
Collaborative Partnerships
8/2022 Nancy Nikolay
Navigating Reform Efforts: Teachers’ Sensemaking During Curriculum Reform Efforts
8/2022 Neil O’Connell
Features of Personalized Learning in Middle School
8/2022 Danyelle Wright
The Pursuit Towards Anti-Racist Professional Development for a Wisconsin School
District
8/2022 Ashley Gaskey
What’s Faculty Have to Do with It? A Critical Analysis of Faculty at For-Profit Institutions
5/22 Christopher Barnes
Your Success Is Our Success: An Exploration of Black Ph.D. Students’ Educational Journeys and Experiences with Mentorship
5/22 Nicholas Mitchell
Principals’ Approaches to Addressing Racial Inequities in Schools
5/22 Na Lor
A Mixed Methods Study of Cultural Inequity in Higher Education
5/22 Colleen Larsen
Dreams beyond Safety: A Critical Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Refugee Students at Two-Year Public Colleges in Wisconsin
5/22 Emilie Hofacker
An Alumni Perspective: Posse Program Impact on STEM Degree Attainment and STEM Workforce Transition
5/22 Sarah Lent
A Call for an Education About Whiteness: Intersections of Teaching and Leading for Antiracist Education
5/22 Sarah Odell
Listening for Resistance: Stories Challenging the Binary in K-12 Educational Leadership
12/21 David Brokopp
Elementary Principals’ Decision to Use Exclusionary Discipline and the Influence
of School Safety on that Decision
12/21 Shelby Rogers
Transfixed on Eliminating Barriers: Re-conceptualizing Student Success Practices in Contemporary Higher Education at a Public Historically Black College and University
12/21 Brett Stousland
Certifying Intercultural Competence: An Investigation of Districts’ Participation in a State
Program
12/21 Helen Behr
Beyond the Closed Door: Teacher Autonomy in Context
12/21 Byron Sharer Robertson
How Do Parental Educational Expectations Change in High School ?
12/21 Molly Carroll
Field Experience Organization
8/21 Jacqueline Forbes
“So We Made Our Own Table”: An Exploration of Three Black Educational Organizations in Atlanta
8/21 Casey Blochowiak
The Positive Deviance Improvement Approach in Education:
A Case Study of School and District Application
8/21 Dawn Crim
Hard Row to Hoe: Unearthing the Barriers, Challenges & Resiliency of African American
Women Presidents at Baccalaureate Institutions
8/21 Kelly Demerath
Who Is Career and College Ready: Equity and Outcomes in Dual Enrollment Programs
8/21 Mark Stateler
The Influence of School Resource Officers on School Climate in Rural Settings: Perspectives of Students, Principals, and School Resource Officers
8/21 Timothy Rosenthal
What Role Do Instances of Toxic Masculinity and Gender Stereotyping Play in Middle School Boys’ Decision-Making Processes Regarding Joining/Continuing in School Choir Programs?
8/21 Ellie Bruecker
An Exploration of Financial Aid Application Patterns and College Access: Three Studies Using High School-Level FAFSA Data
8/21 Allison Degraaf
Building Teachers’ Instructional Capacity in a Balanced Literacy Framework
8/21 Nicole Marble
Fostering Rigorous Learning Opportunities through Academic Conversations and the Teacher Professional Learning that Supports Sustained Schoolwide Use
8/21 Mary Duenas
You’re Not Really Here Because You Deserve to Be Here: How Latinx College Students Experience Imposter Syndrome
8/21 Francis Redmon
Listening to Stories Students Tell About the Impact of Personalized Learning on Their Learning and Lives
8/21 Kimberly Amidzich
Understanding the Role of Equity in School Improvement Science: A Tale of Two Districts
8/21 Barb Novak
Persistent Barriers to Equity: State Statutes and State Education Agency Regulations and Guidance about Specific Learning Disabilities
8/21 Minseok Yang
Unforeseen Costs and Casualties:
The Impact of Teachers’ Union Reform on Teacher Labor Market Responses
5/21 Casey Blochowiak
The Positive Deviance Improvement Approach in Education:
A Case Study of School and District Application
5/21 Laura Eicher
In Schools with Equitable Practices, What is the Elementary Principal’s Role
to Improve Reading Achievement?
5/21 Dominic Ledesma
From language access to communicative equity: Understanding the role and impact of language access accommodations for linguistically diverse parents in K-12 public schools
5/21 Brett Nachman
“I Found My Place”: Unraveling Autistic Community College Students’ Experiences in a College Autism Transition Program
12/20 Nicholas Reichhoff
Layered Instructional Leadership for Coherence:
A Case Study of District and School Level Practices
12/20 Tanushree Rawat
Ambitious and Routine Tasks for Integrating Technology in Schools:
Stories of Two Rural Public Schools in India
8/2020 Julie Kallio
Solving Problems Together: Findings from the Early Stages of a Networked Improvement Community
8/2020 Brit Wagner
New Landing, New Transition: A Phenomenological Investigation of the International Student Arrival Experience
8/2020 Robert DeMeuse
Check Yes or No: Identifying Factors that Predict Rural Wisconsin Public School District Referendum Passage
5/2020 Andrew Erdmann
Out of the Closet: Examining Residence Hall Climate at a Large Public Research Institution for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* and Queer+ Students
5/2020 Daniel Corral (not available in data base)
5/2020 Carmen Bartley
Creating Access to Meaningful Resources and Relationships: Critical Brokerage Practices in a Public Elementary School
5/2020 Cassidy Kist
Opening the Door? How Wisconsin School Districts Respond to Increased Mathematics Graduation Requirements and Its Impact on Students’ Educational Opportunities
12/2019 John Harper
Habits of Mind of District Administrators: An Exploratory Study
12/2019 Ning Sun (not available in data base)
12/2019 SoHee Hyun
Challenges Facing Immigrant Transfer Students Persisting in American Higher Education
12/2019 Taylor Weichman
Cultivating 21st Century Learners through Facilitation of Adventure-Based Education