Congratulations to Joseph “Joe” Falco who on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, successfully defended his dissertation. The title of Joseph’s dissertation is: AN INTERPRETIVE STUDY OF LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS’ SENSE OF BELONGING: AN ASSETS APPROACH.
Joe, passionate about his topic and skilled in his presentation, provided an overview of his research before engaging in rich discussion about his study of how LGBTQ+ community college students described their sense of belonging at their respective institutions. Drawing upon Strayhorn’s (2019) theory of belonging, his interpretive inquiry further sought to identify assets, strategies, and strengths currently employed on community college campuses that affirmed LGBTQ+ students’ identities and contributed positively to their sense of belonging. Climates inside and outside the classroom on community college campuses affect the sense of belonging for queer and trans students. Stemming from interviews with 12 LGBTQ-identifying full-time community college students, findings from this study identified best practices for administrators, faculty, staff, and students to employ at their respective institutions, inside and outside the classroom, and organizationally, to contribute positively to LGBTQ+ community college students’ sense of belonging.
As Joe said at the beginning of his presentation, let’s kick off Pride Month with recent research on belonging. Important and timely! Bravo!
Dissertation Committee Chairs:
Dr. Susan Iverson
Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Angela Clark-Taylor
Dr. Jonathan T. Pryor
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