The National University System Repository exists to increase public access to research and other materials created by students and faculty of the affiliate institutions of National University System. Most items in the repository are open access, freely available to everyone.
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Item Learning to See Otherwise: Building Your Research Avatar Through Qualitative Awareness(2026-02-11)Qualitative research methodology is not confined to data collection or analysis. Instead, it shapes how we define research problems, frame questions, select designs, and interpret findings. This guide cultivates a qualitative research sensibility that makes inquiry rigorous, reflective, and defensible from inception to conclusion. It is intended for doctoral researchers seeking to explore the potential and nuances of qualitative research and to those adopting a qualitative lens to their research problem. The first section unpacks common conceptions of reality and knowledge through accessible illustrations of foundational philosophical concepts. The second section illustrates how a research problem can be framed and examined differently depending on the paradigms – of positivism, critical realism, and interpretivism – that determine how we view the social world we seek to examine. The final section presents a toolkit for querying and examining the literature and data by exploring the inductive, deductive, abductive, categorical, patterned, and causational facets of the knowledge we discover and create critically, reflexively, and more crucially, qualitatively. The guide further includes discipline-specific examples to illustrate how these concepts can be applied to a research problem.Item No Teacher Left Behind. Integrating Technology in Urban P-12 Classrooms Using the SAMR Model: A Qualitative Case Study of Urban Public Schools(2026-02)Abstract In this study, I investigated the integration of technology in urban P–12 classrooms using the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) model as a framework. The research explored how urban teachers employ technology to enhance instruction and the impact of these practices on student outcomes. Using a qualitative case study design, the study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 urban educators, focusing on their experiences with technology integration. The findings revealed that substitution of traditional methods with digital tools is most common, with teachers using learning management systems and interactive tools to streamline tasks. Augmentation occurred when technology enhanced the learning experience, providing real-time feedback and collaboration. Modification was observed in lessons redesigned through technology, where students created multimedia projects and engaged in simulations. The results highlight the importance of teacher preparedness, infrastructure, and professional development in advancing technology use, suggesting that while substitution is prevalent, progress toward more transformative technology integration is contingent on systemic support. The study's insights are crucial for developing strategies to optimize technology integration in urban educational settings. Keywords: technology integration, SAMR Model, urban education, P-12 classrooms, educational technology, qualitative case study. Abstract In this study, I investigated the integration of technology in urban P–12 classrooms using the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) model as a framework. The research explored how urban teachers employ technology to enhance instruction and the impact of these practices on student outcomes. Using a qualitative case study design, the study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 urban educators, focusing on their experiences with technology integration. The findings revealed that substitution of traditional methods with digital tools is most common, with teachers using learning management systems and interactive tools to streamline tasks. Augmentation occurred when technology enhanced the learning experience, providing real-time feedback and collaboration. Modification was observed in lessons redesigned through technology, where students created multimedia projects and engaged in simulations. The results highlight the importance of teacher preparedness, infrastructure, and professional development in advancing technology use, suggesting that while substitution is prevalent, progress toward more transformative technology integration is contingent on systemic support. The study's insights are crucial for developing strategies to optimize technology integration in urban educational settings. Keywords: technology integration, SAMR Model, urban education, P-12 classrooms, educational technology, qualitative case study. Abstract In this study, I investigated the integration of technology in urban P–12 classrooms using the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) model as a framework. The research explored how urban teachers employ technology to enhance instruction and the impact of these practices on student outcomes. Using a qualitative case study design, the study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 urban educators, focusing on their experiences with technology integration. The findings revealed that substitution of traditional methods with digital tools is most common, with teachers using learning management systems and interactive tools to streamline tasks. Augmentation occurred when technology enhanced the learning experience, providing real-time feedback and collaboration. Modification was observed in lessons redesigned through technology, where students created multimedia projects and engaged in simulations. The results highlight the importance of teacher preparedness, infrastructure, and professional development in advancing technology use, suggesting that while substitution is prevalent, progress towardItem Exploring the Views of White Therapists on Confronting Racism in Therapy with White Clients(2026-02)A gap exists in the marriage and family counseling literature regarding how White therapists address racism and engage in social justice efforts when working with White clients. When these conversations occur in therapy, it is unclear what strategies, and ethical considerations guide therapists’ responses. This qualitative study addressed the following research problem: there is a gap in literature examining White therapists’ experiences of addressing race related topics with White clients in therapy, leaving White therapists potentially unprepared to manage harmful attitudes and systemic inequities in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore White therapists’ experiences of addressing racism with White clients, the interventions they employ, and the ethical concerns they navigate. The study’s conceptual framework, critical race theory (CRT), was used to examine systemic power dynamics and the ethical responsibility of therapists to promote racial awareness. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) informed, inductive thematic analytic process was employed. A purposive sample of licensed White therapists in the United States, including marriage and family therapists, licensed counselors, and social workers, was recruited through an anonymous online questionnaire shared via Facebook. The final sample consisted of 12 participants who completed an open-ended questionnaire exploring their experiences of confronting racism in therapy. Patterns of meaning were identified inductively through sustained, interpretive engagement with participants’ responses. Three main themes emerged: (1) confronting racism with White clients, highlighting therapist discomfort and client defensiveness; (2) interventions and microskills, including psychoeducation and cognitive-behavioral strategies; and (3) ethical considerations, emphasizing the tension between client autonomy and challenging harmful beliefs. The findings revealed the complexity of addressing racism in therapy and the sustained emotional and ethical engagement required of White therapists as they navigate power, privilege, and accountability within therapeutic relationships. Recommendations for practice include integrating anti-racist training into counselor education, promoting therapist self-reflection, and using therapy as a platform for racial awareness. Recommendations for future research include examining the effectiveness of anti-racist interventions, exploring diverse therapist populations, and investigating client outcomes when racism is addressed in therapy. This study contributes to counseling theory, ethics, and education by positioning anti-racism as essential to competent and ethical clinical practice.Item The Role of Social Connectivity for South Asian Women Survivors of Sexual Trauma(2026-02-20)For many South Asian women, recovery from sexual violence is shaped not only by trauma-related impacts but also by cultural, relational, and systemic barriers, including collectivistic values, honour-based expectations, shame, and limited access to culturally appropriate services. Despite this complexity, much of the existing trauma literature is grounded in individualistic, western perspectives that overlook the social context of healing from sexual violence for South Asian women. This review explored how social connectivity hinders and supports recovery among South Asian women survivors of sexual violence, and how this knowledge can inform culturally responsive interventions.The thematic integrative literature review synthesized the results of qualitative studies (which included phenomenological studies and interview studies) and quantitative studies (which included population and cross-sectional survey studies) and mixed-methods studies and systematic/narrative reviews and conceptual studies and grey literature. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model guided the organization and interpretation of data to capture the influence of social connections across multiple ecological levels. Findings indicated that social connectivity plays a central role in sexual trauma recovery; with family, peer, community, and institutional relationships acting as sources of either support or stigma, silence, and exclusion. Culturally relevant relational support was associated with increased service utilization and improved psychological outcomes, whereas engagement with culturally incongruent systems often hindered healing. Overall, the findings highlighted the need for clinicians to integrate relational, cultural, and ecological considerations into trauma-informed practice.Item Graduates’ Perceptions on the Reasons for the Enrollment Uptrends of Vocational- Technical Education: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study(2025-04)The problem addressed in this qualitative phenomenological study is that, due to increased demand for county-run vocational-technical high schools in New Jersey, there are limited enrollment opportunities in these schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of County X Vocational (a pseudonym) graduates with regard to their perceived reasons for the increased demand for enrollment and how they perceive that enrollment opportunities can be increased at County X Vocational. This study was grounded in Steuart’s law of supply and demand, because there is an increased number of students (high demand) desiring to attend vo-tech high school (the service), resulting in limited county-run vo-tech enrollment opportunities (low supply). A qualitative phenomenological research design was used, where data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews from a purposive sampling of 11 graduates. One central question and two sub-questions guided the study. Data were transcribed and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and In-Vivo coding, followed by interpretation using thick written descriptions to explain the findings. The results indicated that by strategically creating student schedules that allowed all graduation and employment certifications to be satisfied by the end of junior year, vo-tech educational leaders will be able to increase enrollment opportunities at the county-run vo-tech high schools. These findings can guide educators to create individual graduation road maps that summarize credits, skills and certifications earned at the end of junior year. Students’ completed road map would serve as a passport to either off-campus college classes or program-based employment in the final year of high school. A future study analyzing the success rate of vo-tech high school graduates vis-a-vis types of vo-tech instructional schedules, is recommended to provide needed insight on the future of vo-tech high schools regarding creating more enrollment opportunities.
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