<p> Highly successful online educators are believed to have a perceived sense of subjective well-being in connection to the education they give to their students. The research question for this study was: what is the perceived subjective well-being for highly successful online educators? This generic qualitative research study used sampling that was purposive and a thematic probe of the data. The study included eight exceptional individuals who described their feelings of what it meant to be highly successful as online educators. A rich narrative of the experiences of the participants offers original insights that supplements a better understanding of how they associated with and taught learners. This research study acknowledged those experiences that are collective and exceptional among the participants. Conclusions from the analysis included online educators who are highly successful have a positive sense of subjective well-being in their jobs. There were four major themes found: satisfaction, creativity, motivation and appreciation. It is the goal of this research study that highly successful online educators will continue to engage and collaborate with their students and this provides the basis for both exceptional learning and teaching experiences alike. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> subjective well-being, highly successful educators, satisfaction, creativity, motivation and appreciation.</p>

<p> The cultural capital of first generation community college students is crucial to their college persistence. Research that underscores cultural wealth is often overlooked in higher education research. Contrary to a deficit oriented approach that focuses mainly on <i>what</i> first-generation students' lack, this study concentrated on the strengths, knowledge, abilities, and skills students possess to succeed in college. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of family, institutions, and people in helping first-generation students use and build cultural capital to meet their personal, career, and academic goals. A convenient sample of 15 first-generation student participants and 1 advisor from a southern California community college was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed. Transcript analysis produced 5 major themes: (a) Pushing Agents, (b) Accountability Promotes Student Persistence, (c) Career Aspirations, and (d) Pivotal Programs and People in High School. The most salient finding, <i>Pushing Agents </i> detailed the far-reaching affect that family, institutions, and people had on the participants' higher education experience. Pushing agents were a positive factor that frequently, constantly, and intimately pushed participants to carry out their aspirations. In conclusion, participant interviews revealed numerous strengths, assets, and abilities that allowed them to accomplish their personal, career, and academic goals.</p>

<p> The overall intent of the study was to understand the role of emotional intelligence in school leader preparation programs in the Nazarene university system. A qualitative exploration of the understanding and presence of emotional intelligence (EI) theory and associated concepts in two Nazarene university principal preparation programs was conducted along with an investigation of the need, hindrances, and solutions to including such topics in the universities' programs. Two educational leadership program directors from each university acted as participants by responding to semi structured interview questions about the topics. </p><p> The results revealed a perceived need for the inclusion of EI theory and associated concepts in the universities' principal preparation programs. Hindrances and possible solutions for including EI in the curriculum resulted in clear guidelines for incorporating the topics in the universities' courses of study. Implications for application of the results to other universities were discussed as well as the potential for development and implementation of training in EI for a broader set of educational leaders, including preservice and existing principals, teachers, education specialists, various levels of school leaders, and community partners in leadership roles affecting schools. Recommendations were made for further research extending the study of EI theory and associated concepts into universities outside the Nazarene university system as well as employing a quantitative approach to further investigate the ten themes which emerged regarding the relationship between EI and principal leadership. A comparison study using the same methods to explore the topic of servant leadership was also suggested.</p>

<p> The current study tested the hypothesis that student spirituality would relate positively to the construct of calling and that these constructs together would lead toward career decidedness. To test this model, a sample consisting of 1139 students from a large Midwest university was surveyed. Results supported these hypotheses only in part. The results suggest the spirituality construct to consist of spiritual identity, spiritual quest, and equanimity consistent with the Astin, Astin, and Lindholm spirituality study. Both search for calling and presence of calling consisted of three parts consistent with Dik and Duffy's concept of calling: transcendent summons, purposeful work, and prosocial orientation. The career decidedness construct also consisted of three domains in accordance with Savickas' formulation: career path, academic major, and occupation. </p><p> Spirituality, in general, highly correlated with search for calling. Correlations were also high between search for calling and presence of calling. Because of this, search for calling was found to mediate an indirect influence of spirituality on presence of calling. However, the manner in which career decidedness related to the model was not expected. According to the data, career decidedness weakly but directly correlated with presence of calling and was determined to be a predicting influence, contrary to the hypothesis. Although no meaningful correlations were discovered between spirituality and career decidedness, equanimity was discovered to meaningfully associate with both spirituality and career decidedness. Theoretical and practical implications are explored.</p>