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 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.Item Attendance Matters: A Qualitative Descriptive Design on Teachers’ Instructional Strategies for Accommodating Chronically Absent Students(2025)The problem addressed was that teachers who work in urban elementary schools lack the instructional strategies to accommodate chronically absent students. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive design was to obtain the experiences and perspectives of urban elementary teachers on accommodating instructional strategies for chronically absent students. The theoretical framework that structured this study is based on Bandura’s social learning theory. This theory emphasizes that observation serves as the foundation for learning to take place in an environment in which individuals learn by modeling and imitating the behaviors of others. Bandura’s process of observation and imitation helped to facilitate insight into how learning occurs in a social context. Twelve participants who met the eligibility criteria embodied the sample population. Each was purposefully chosen based on availability. Data was gathered from an open-ended questionnaire and descriptive responses. An inductive analysis was applied by coding and categorizing to identify themes based on the responses of the participants. Six themes originated from the findings. The participants acknowledged the benefits of tailored instruction, differentiated instruction, and multiple instructional models and strategies to accommodate the instructional needs of chronically absent students. The participants also stated that the lack of instructional time, the disengagement of students, and the lack of administrative support were significant factors that contributed to the struggles teachers confront when accommodating the instructional needs of chronically absent students. The teachers also voiced a compelling need for more collaboration and a desire for more support outside the classroom, like professional learning opportunities. Future research should include longitudinal studies on why students who regularly attend school come to school.Item USA Sitting Volleyball Professional Athletes’ Perspectives on Transition Through Sport: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study(2026-01), This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of United States sitting volleyball para-athletes and retired para-athletes during the transition from professional sports to civilian life, addressing the lack of employment opportunities, career development support, and societal perceptions of disability. The purpose was to explore how para-athletes understood and navigated this transition through Schlossberg's transition theory (1981) and Stambulova's athletic (2003) career transition model. The study was based on three research questions: What are the lived experiences of transitioning from professional sports to retirement and the workforce (RQ1), how do individuals perceive and describe the opportunities encountered (RQ2), and what strategies are most supportive during the transition (RQ3). Using a phenomenological design and purposive sampling, fourteen para-athletes volunteered to participate in this study. National team coaches communicated via email about the study, then participants were selected through a snowball sampling approach. Data were collected through virtual, semi-structured interviews, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using transcendental phenomenological analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured through protocols that included informed consent, confidentiality, member checking, and reflexive journaling. Three themes emerged: 1) an athlete’s paradox that struggles with transition and organizational gaps; 2) opportunities become practical when communication, mentorship, networking, and accommodations are met; and 3) proactive, thorough methods such as early career planning, certifications, benefits, and insurance orientation and mental health awareness. Participants shared concerns about the challenges of their transition, classification, logistics, and upkeep of their prosthesis. They emphasized the need for a well-structured aftercare period. Addressing the needs of para-athletes by providing career support and serving as a mentor can help the transition process. These findings highlighted the need for structured transition support that extends beyond years as an active professional athlete and addresses the realities para-athletes encounter during transition, retirement, and workforce entry. It is recommended that USA Sitting Volleyball implement a formal transition pathway throughout athletes’ careers that includes career planning, mentorship, mental health support, and employment networking.Item Before Attachment: Maternal-Infant Bonding in the First Eight Weeks(2025-11)This paper re-evaluates mother-infant bonding and attachment through the lenses of current neuroscience, interpersonal psychology, and matricentric feminism. It outlines maternal-infant bonding as a dyadic neurobiological process rooted in interpersonal synchrony and mammalian biology. Bonding occurs in the first eight weeks of life, is fundamental to human psychosocial functioning, and becomes the basis for all later human affiliative bonds, including romantic attachments. New bonding research based in neuroscience calls into question a half-century of attachment research focused on older babies, the feminist dismissal of bonding as a scientific fiction, and the narrow focus of psychotherapy on self-actualization of the individual. Two crucial perspectives had previously gone unexamined—those of newborns and mothers themselves. Neonatal babies were believed too passive and blank to participate in the bonding process and were ignored by researchers until they could demonstrably express feelings toward the mother. Mothers were seen as the agents of their baby’s wellness but rarely asked for their own views on bonding or mothering. Neuroscience now confirms infants were underestimated. They build foundational neurocircuitry for lifelong psychosocial functioning during a critical developmental window that opens at birth and closes after eight weeks. Newborn babies actively participate in their own social learning and mothers undergo simultaneous neural change, opening tremendous possibility and also vulnerability for both. During this crucial time, mothers and newborns function as an intersubjective dyad rather than two individuals. The psychosocial health of each depends upon the other. Consequently, the wellbeing of new mothers demands new primacy and attention from mental health professionals.Item To My Brother With Love: Our Kidney Transplant Journey(2026-02-10)Melody Rawlings, EdD, is an author and educator who is passionate about service, faith, and helping others live meaningful, purpose-centered lives. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership and a master’s degree in science and technology. Her writing has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and in books published by Routledge, Cambridge, IGI Global, and Kendall Hunt. To My Brother With Love offers a vivid first‑person account of the lived experience of kidney failure, dialysis, and a living donor kidney transplant, highlighting the intertwined roles of faith, family support, humor, and personal resilience in navigating a life‑altering medical journey. The narrative traces the bond between a brother facing organ failure and the sister who becomes his donor, providing insight into the emotional, spiritual, and relational dimensions of illness, caregiving, and recovery. Because it centers on meaning‑making through personal reflection, identity, and shared family experience, the book serves as a strong phenomenological case study for examining themes such as embodiment, vulnerability, altruism, spiritual coping, and the human experience of chronic illness and healing.
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