Volume 9, Issue 3 (2026)
Introduction
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The editors of the Journal of Research Initiatives are confident you will find this edition rewarding. We are honored to welcome Dr. Oksana Karapetian as Guest Editor for this issue.
Volume 9, Issue 3 offers a broad cross-section of scholarship in higher education, teacher preparation, international education, early childhood learning, and educational technology. Its authors represent institutions across the United States, along with international scholars from Greece, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Topics range from child survival practices in Nigeria and the use of art to transform dysfunctional views to the experiences of Black pre-service teachers and learning to disagree as a pathway to inclusion in higher education.
- Several articles examine what helps college students persist and succeed, and others explore the growing role of technology and artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. Technology runs through the issue, from classroom practice to policy and governance.
We trust the articles in this edition will offer a rewarding learning experience that strengthens knowledge and practice in working with students. We thank our authors, reviewers, and editorial board for their contributions to this issue.
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Dr. Oksana Karapetian, Guest EditorDr. Edward Cromarty, EditorDr. Linda Wilson-Jones, Editor-in-Chief
Research Articles
Lecturer-to-Lecturer Learning Model for Artificial Intelligence Adoption in African Universities: Opportunities and Challenges
Vincent C. Asogwa
Awareness of Digital Footprints and Its Implications for the Ethical Cyber Behavior of Undergraduate Library and Information Science Students in Kwara State, Nigeria
Aderinola Ololade Dunmade, Akinade Adebowale Adewojo, and Abdulwahab Olanrewaju Issa
From Silos to Systems in Higher Education: Doctoral Students’ Conceptualizations of Faculty and Staff Collaboration in Academic Planning
Linda Wilson-Jones and Simone Elias
Confidence Intervals as a QuantCrit Method: Reframing Longitudinal Educational Data Through Estimation, Uncertainty, and Within-Group Analysis
Jamaal Young, Jemimah Young, and Kristian Edosomwan
Grit, Mindset, and Academic Outcomes Among Nontraditional Online College Students
David W. Franklin, Heidi L. Andrade, Jason Bryer, and Angela M. Lui
Brilliance Beyond the Margins: Centering the Voice and Experiences of a Black Pre-Service Teacher
Samantha L. Strachan
Removing Barringer: University Renaming Governance, Campus Racial Climate, and the Limits of Symbolic Reform
Charletta H. Barringer-Brown and Daniel N. Brown
Oral History as a Tool for First-Year Student Success
Justin Willis and Saul Araujo
Does Gender Spell Success? Exploring Female Student Perspectives of Faculty at a Higher Educational Institution
Chitora Jackson
Conceptual Articles
Language for Learning: Examining Teacher Language in Reading Instruction
Madeleine Mejia and Amber Bechard
Reframing Dissertation Committee Practice: A Student-Centered Conceptual Framework for Doctoral Education
Roberto Victor Rodríguez Rivera
Human-Centered AI Governance in K–12 Education: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Policy Gaps in Massachusetts School Districts
Simone Elias, Noran Moffett, Jeremy Womack, and Richard Brutti
Living Between Lines: A Conceptual Paper for an Empirical Study Exploring the Impact of Gendered Racial Socialization on Black Women in Emerging Adulthood
Danielle C. Hickman
Digital Learning and Digital Literacy: Conceptual Distinctions, Theoretical Frameworks, and Educational Implications Across the Educational Continuum
Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones, and Richard Brutti
