Leadership and learning are human activities occurring within an interpersonal, social context. This study was concerned with rendering the lived experiences of leaders and learners as intelligible, allowing for understanding of factors affecting knowledge construction and learning in higher education settings. The individual, personal experiences of teachers and learners were explored in order to identify factors that can be influenced by teacher leadership. Phenomenology was the philosophical and methodological structure of this study. Fifty-two nursing students enrolled in a senior level course at a regional state university participated in the study, as well as the two course co-teachers. All participants engaged in a narratologic journaling process that reflected their personal experiences with learning. Journals were kept for a 12 week-period, and narrative data reflecting individual learners and leaders' personal engagement with learning were collected at six discrete intervals during the study. The textual data were systematically analyzed, consistent with qualitative research processes, using constant comparative methods, and assisted by QSR NUD.IST computer software. Sixteen major themes and 36 sub-themes representing meaningful expressions of the lived lives of participants were identified. The lived lives of participants are about power, tension, mistakes, expectations, and most significantly about caring. Examination of the interrelationship of themes led to identification of factors impacting leadership and learning within the study classroom. Three interrelationship theme clusters were found and represent the study's major findings. The interrelationship clusters are reported as three conceptual models reflecting what it is to be a learner or leader in the classroom of study. These models are (a) the positive power of leadership, (b) tension and learning, and (c) leadership for learning, and lead to identification of pedagogy seen as positively impacting knowledge construction in a higher education classroom setting.

Despite a narrowing trend over the past forty years, the racial academic performance gap between non-Asian-American minority students and European-American students remains an overarching issue in K-12 schooling according to the Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis (2017). Du Bois’s (1903) theory of double consciousness is implicated in the performance gap phenomenon. Though not explicitly connected, Steele and Aronson’s 1995 study revealed stereotype threat (STT) to be an empirical explanation of the negative impact of double consciousness. Steele et al.’s study revealed a psycho-social contributor to the racial academic performance gap, STT. STT is characterized by performance suppression caused by the fear of fulfilling a negative stereotype or the fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype attributed to one’s social identity group. The activation of this phenomenon is related to identity threatening cues, a systemic issue laden in the academic environment (Purdie-Vaughns, Steele, Davies, Ditlmann, & Crosby, 2008). To date, over 300 studies have been conducted on STT according to a meta-analysis conducted by Pennington, Heim, Levy, and Larkin (2016). Though certain experimental studies featuring mentoring as a vehicle for shifting stereotype narratives have yielded useful practices for STT reduction (Good et al., 2003), qualitative design, which is seldomly employed in the STT field, may produce an understanding of the phenomenon that is not possible through a deductive approach (Ezzy, 2002; van Kaam, 1966). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore African-American adolescent student perceptions of the impact that mentoring has on their schooling experiences while under STT conditions. The findings of this study demonstrated that African-American adolescents perceived mentoring to positively impact their schooling experiences and helped them to cope with STT activating cues in the environment. The participants discussed structural aspects of the relationships, personality attributes of the mentor, and specific mentor guidance. Participants also discussed a documented STT intervention that fell outside of the parameters of their mentoring relationships that positively impacted their schooling experiences and abilities to cope with STT cues – affirmations (Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006; Walton et al., 2012). Recommendations for practice and future research are presented.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of having academic mentors of similar heritage to facilitate higher academic attainment of first generation Mexican immigrants. The researcher assures to demonstrate how constructs such as mentorship, self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, social and cultural capital, and similar heritage due to cultural values can positively influence and contribute to the success of English Language learners in academia. Through the mentorship relationship, students, particularly minority groups, can tap into social and cultural capital that would otherwise be limited due to their immigration to a foreign country. Immigration typically limits individuals’ ability to communicate in the predominant language, which in turn limits their ability to culturally relate or access social capital. Mentors, particularly those of similar heritage, through their shared stories can become role models as they exemplify self-efficacy and self-regulatory strategies. Family, especially for Mexican-immigrants, is one of their strongest values. Students, given their cultural values, seek opportunities to create a sense of family. Having left their country, their friends and family; it is only natural for immigrants to find comfort in relationships that resemble those with padrinos (godparents). In this case, the relationship is not through a spiritual connection, but through a mutual understanding of hardships, background, and heritage. For these reasons, mentors of similar heritage have the greatest positive impact when facilitate higher academic attainment of Mexican immigrants.

Student writing skills are a growing concern in secondary schools given the current focus on common core standards and college readiness. This qualitative case study addressed the growing problem of high school students being unprepared for the rigor of college level-writing. The study used a series of 10 interviews with writing center directors and teachers in 2 secondary schools with writing centers. This research adds to the literature on peer-managed writing centers and contributes to the body of knowledge of writing centers as a specific conceptual framework of response to intervention (RtI). The broad research questions were focused on 3 topics: student's writing abilities, the effectiveness of the intervention of the writing center, and possible improvements to the writing center. Three directors and 7 teachers were selected for interviews through purposeful sampling. Inductive analysis was used to identify emergent themes: establishing a peer-managed writing center, function of the center, student writing, effectiveness of the writing center, and suggested improvements. The culminating project for this research was the establishment of a professional development program designed to provide a foundation for schools that are creating a peer-managed writing center at the secondary level. This study promotes the development of these centers across the school district of the study and provides evidence for RtI as a method to address the problem of secondary students being unprepared for writing at the post-secondary level. Positive social change can be achieved for the local school district by expanding the use of peer-managed writing centers with a focus on using RtI to address the problem of students being unprepared for the rigors of college writing.

There is a lack of research on the academic resilience of minority, first-generation, online doctoral students (MFOD) who experienced poverty and parental substance abuse (PSA). The purpose of this study was to explore how MFOD who overcame poverty and PSA developed academic resilience. Resilience theory and Kember's model of attrition in online programs provided a conceptual framework for this study. The research questions guiding this qualitative study concerned how MFOD perceive and interpret their academic resilience and protective factors. A purposeful sample of 6 students participated in semistructured interviews. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted, which included a case by case analysis, and a cross-case analysis. Results indicate that academic resilience is perceived as (a) determination, (b) evolving realization of the value of education, (c) paving the way for others, and (d) leveraging strengths to succeed in an online doctoral program. Protective factors are perceived as (a) resilience in adversity, (b) mindset about school, (c) identity resilience, and (d) transformational experiences. The results of this study reveal that the participants learned to see themselves beyond the context of their immediate environments. Positive social change implications include improving existing social policy to aggressively target high-poverty school districts and communities with PSA. More specifically, at-risk minority students would benefit from targeted interventions focused on family engagement in education and school retention.

Teachers need interventions to improve at-risk students' self-efficacy, which may improve their academic performance in school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of elementary school teachers at a Texas public middle school as to what research-based interventions they felt would improve the self-efficacy of these students. Bandura's social cognitive theory, which framed the study, indicates that self-efficacy beliefs affect the courses of action that people seek and the choices people make. Many at-risk students who experience a lack of academic success have low self-efficacy, which may affect their school performance. The research questions that guided the study focused on teachers' perceptions of whether a school-based mentoring program, counseling services, or an afterschool program would best help at-risk students improve their self-efficacy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 6 teacher participants who were purposely selected from different grade levels at the school. The data were transcribed and analyzed using hand-coding procedures to determine categories and themes from the transcripts. The findings revealed that teachers thought that a school-based mentoring program would have the most positive impact in improving the self-efficacy of at-risk students. The results prompted the development of a training program for mentors. Positive social change may result when at-risk students benefit from mentors who are properly trained on ways to meaningfully impact them.

Even with extensive literacy research, routines, and policy modifications, many elementary students are not provided with the needed tools to develop independent literacy skills. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine what independent literacy behaviors are developing in first through fourth grade students to determine whether the Daily 5 framework is developing the desired independent literacy skills in those students. Based on Vygotsky's social development theory, the Daily 5 literacy routine teaches students five essential habits to develop independent literacy abilities across various grade levels. This qualitative study's research questions were developed to examine what independent literacy behaviors have been observed by teachers and how student learning is reflected based on Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. The study included nine participants comprised of teachers and parents of students at the study site. The data collected through open-ended interviews, email questionnaires, lesson plans from teachers, and documentation were then coded using Atlas.ti. Emergent themes were identified through data analysis, and the findings were validated through member checking, triangulation, and researcher reflexivity. The findings revealed that while some independent literacy behaviors are reported, additional support is still needed. The findings led to the development of a professional development project centered on literacy professional development activities that build collaboration. This study and project facilitates positive social change by defining how the Daily 5 routine is promoting independent literacy skills at the research site, which builds communities of readers and positive reading experiences that circulate within the school and home.

Middle and high school general education teachers in the school district in this bounded case study were facing challenges with meeting the needs of students who have autism in the current inclusion program. The purpose of this study was to understand teachers' challenges with components of the inclusion program and serving students with autism in the general education classroom. The conceptual framework was Villa and Thousand's 5 system-level best practices for successful inclusive education. A purposeful sampling procedure was used to select 4 general education teachers who were teaching autistic students in an inclusive setting; this sample included 2 middle school level and 2 high school level teachers from 2 schools in the small rural district. The data collected through classroom observations and semi structured interviews were coded based on Villa and Thousand's best practices of leadership, redefined roles, collaboration, adult support, and promotion as each related to inclusion of autistic students. Results were used to identify challenges teachers were facing that prevented the 5 system-level best practices from being implemented. Key challenges were collaboration between general and special education teachers and lack of professional development for all teachers on inclusion. Findings were used to provide recommendations for how to address challenges in middle and high school inclusion programs and for conducting future studies in different settings. The results of this study could be used by school leaders and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about system level implementation of inclusion program components and for enhancing the learning of students who have autism in the inclusive setting.

本篇之研究目的有兩個層次：首先是探討三民主義之人類進化論與人性論。其次是研究三民主義之人類進化論與人性論的關聯。以見三民主義的人類進化論，是以其人性論為基礎。 　　本研究認為，三民主義的人性論肯定人性為：「人皆有之的自覺認識、自覺實踐能力。但各人所稟程度不同。此一能力是本之生元，源之於生物進化。並使人異於萬物，優於萬物。」 　　三民主義的人類進化論則是：「主張人類及其所創造物逐漸滿足人類互助圖存的目的之變化過程的理論。」 　　由人性論與人類進化論的關聯可知，三民主義的人類進化論在其人性論的主導貫串下，成為「人本的人類進化論」。即人類進化乃是人性自然發抒、自我完善的外顯現象。人類進化乃是發於人性，亦為人性所成就。是以人類進化的意義，在於其符合人性。人類進化的一切製作，皆必須有助人性發展。 　　此外，本研究認為三民主義欲在實際作用中豁顯其正面意義，必須先由學術上加以揚棄、重建，方可修整出可資運用、認知的體系。因此，傳承前賢的研究，將三民主義更加學術化、理論化，應具有為人類未來找尋出路的意義。這是本研究的未來展望所在。

La ricerca si propone, attraverso una lettura ermeneutica storico-teoretica della quasi totalità dei testi anselmiani, di far emergere quale sia la concezione antropologica dell’autore e all’interno di quali linee teoriche possa essere ricondotta. Emergerà come innegabile il riferimento all’impianto antropologico e teologico agostiniano ma sarà altrettanto evidente come Anselmo si ponga in parziale discontinuità con questo nucleo fondativo proponendo notevoli elementi di novità. Lo studio si snoda su cinque capitoli che rispondono al tentativo di mostrare come - pur non potendo prescindere dal fondamento di Dio da cui tutto procede, per poi passare attraverso l’icona del Cristo e della sua incarnazione, fino ad arrivare all’uomo ed essere nuovamente condotti in ultima istanza a Dio – l’impianto anselmiano proponga significativi aspetti di discontinuità con il paradigma di riferimento. Nella parte conclusiva, attraverso una ripresa del Proslogion, si è mostrato come alla luce del percorso compiuto anche l’id quo maius acquisti un significato e una valenza ancor più ricca soprattutto per i suoi riflessi sul versante antropologico che possono suggerire stimoli assai interessanti anche per l’uomo contemporaneo. / The aim of this study is to analyze Anselmo's scriptures, his literary references and anthropological conception through an hermeneutic historical-theoretic approach. The analysis shows an anthropological and theological connection with Agostino's inheritance but, at the same time, it is possible to evidence that Anselmo introduces new elements of reflection. My research is based on five chapters that try to demonstrate the distinctive feature of Anselmo anthropological conception starting from his main philosophical/theological subjects such the foundation of God, the proceeds of everything from Him, the figure of Christ, his incarnation and the human being. In conclusion, the id quo maius acquired an important and renewed meaning -through the anthropological interpretation done - not only for the historical research but for the contemporary man too.