Digital Commons Network^™

Identifying Barriers Faced By Adult Learners In General Educational Development Programs, Matthew Patrick Beasland

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

It is estimated that 70% of all newly created jobs in Illinois by 2020 will need education beyond a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) diploma. In Illinois, 12% of adults 25 and older do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Individuals without a high school diploma or GED are twice as likely to be unemployed and if they are employed are more likely to be in a low-wage position. On average an individual without a high school diploma or GED will earn roughly $10,000 less annually. Given the increasing need for a high school …

Experiences Of Southeast Asians At A Community College In The Midwest, Emmanuel Canlas Esperanza Jr.

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explored what contributed to Southeast Asian students’ persistence in an urban community college in the Midwest. A qualitative case study was used to reveal how Southeast Asian students perceived personal and educational experiences and how those experiences created an impact on their persistence. This project addressed the lack of research on Southeast Asians and their challenges attaining academic success in higher education. This study is critical, as there is a lack of research on Southeast Asian students’ experiences within higher education institutions, particularly within community college settings. The majority of research has focused on Asian American or international …

S.I.S. (Suffering In Silence): The Influence Of Educational Attainment On Black Women’S Health, Quiana Chakeena Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry study was to explore the influence of educational attainment on Black women’s perceptions of their health. Empirical research indicates the causes of stress and other health concerns pertaining to Black women are often rooted in racism and discrimination. Within the literature, the barriers that many African American women face within the educational system on all levels are discussed. However, there are few studies that have specifically researched the connection between educational attainment regarding receiving bachelorette degrees or higher and how or if that has an influence on Black women’s health. As such, the …

“I Never Shared My Opinion Again”: Political Communication Apprehension And Conservative College Students, Megan Elise Montgomery

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Higher education faculty have long struggled with getting students to participate meaningfully in classroom and campus dialogues. Some students avoid participating due to fear or anxiety of communicating with others. Certain topics, such as politics, can cause higher degrees of apprehension. Political minority groups can experience greater apprehension when communicating with majority groups. One minority group in academia with the potential to self-censor is the conservative student.

This study used state-based communication apprehension (McCroskey, 1984) and political communication apprehension (PCA, Jones-Carmack, 2019) as theoretical backings to explore how conservative opinion expression and self-censorship in academic settings might change over time. …

I Belong At Harper College: A Qualitative Case Study On Fostering Community College Students’ Sense Of Belonging Through A First-Year Seminar Course, Emily Reabe

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

While community college is often seen as an avenue that provides access to higher education to a greater part of the population, community colleges have struggled with improving retention, persistence, and degree completion. Research highlights the importance of helping students develop a sense of belonging at the institution, which has been found to improve retention, persistence, and degree completion. One avenue to do so may be through requiring students to enroll in a First Year Seminar course. This qualitative case study explored the way in which a First Year Seminar course may influence students’ sense of belonging at a community …

Becoming Internationalized: Faculty Directors Of International Programs At Universities In Japan, Robert Joseph Schalkoff Ii

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Internationalization is a key component in the strategic visions of universities worldwide. Japanese universities are no exception. The strategic internationalization or Kokusaika of universities in Japan is led at the national level by the central government. Faculty members, in particular those charged with campus internationalization, are the drivers of internationalization at the institutional level. These faculty members are highly internationalized themselves. However, little is known about how faculty members at Japanese universities become internationalized. Research on the paths they take, what factors play a role in the process of internationalization, and what influence their internationalization has on the institutions they …

Connecting Evidence Use And Practice In K-12 Education: Discovering And Planning For Research Practice Partnerships, Amy Jo Clemens

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation, I begin with a paper exploring K-12 educators’ use of evidence. I give several examples of how practitioners are delivering programming that is in direct opposition to commonly held evidence-based understandings, explore the reasons why this is happening and then offer a relatively new type of partnership between practitioners and researchers that looks promising in the ongoing pursuit of greater research engagement and use of evidence by practitioners. This paper also applies the Outcomes Based Concern Model for deconstructing the reasons practitioners do not use evidence to the degree desired by policymakers.

In the second paper I …

They Decided To Graduate: A Study Of Collegiate African American Men’S Transformational Experiences In College And Beyond, Kathy Marie Freeman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This is a study of African American men alumni who were members of a Black Male Initiative (BMI) organization at a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the Midwest. The research explores the motivation and transformational experiences of BMI alumni and how their participation in the organization provided the support and motivation they needed to persist and graduate. Self-determination theory and transformational learning theory formed the theoretical frameworks that inform this study. This qualitative study obtained data from 10 African American men by using a 60-90 minute in-depth interview structure with 10 open-ended questions. This dissertation builds on the growing literature …

Free Ain’T Really Free: A Critical Ethnographical Exploration Of The Experiences Of Queer People Of Color In Postsecondary Education, Antoinette Ebony Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Queer people of color (QPOC), who participate in higher education experience understand the intersectional nature of racial and sexual identity development. This study explores the experiences of thirteen self-identified QPOC who participate in higher education using the Portraiture methodology. It highlights the voices of QPOC as they navigate the processes of coming out while accenting their understanding of their intersecting racial and sexual identities. This study offers a model of racial and sexual identity development based on the narratives of the participants in this study. It highlights their strengths and adaptability as they negotiate and ascribe meaning to their lives …

Remodeled Classrooms: Experiential Learning And Its Impact, Mindy Kinnaman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined how faculty learn how to host and facilitate experiential learning activities for their classes and how the faculty are impacted by the work. Findings based upon nine semi-structured interviews indicated that fewer than half of participants had been formally trained to host experiential learning activities and some received no training at all. Findings also indicated that faculty experienced several personal benefits to hosting experiential learning activities, as did their students. Recommendations that emerged from this project include training programs for faculty, mentoring programs, and funding of experiential learning programs.

A Phenomenological Study Of First-Generation Latin@ Community College Students As They Successfully Persist In College, Michelé Elaine Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that community colleges are essential to the economic development of the communities they serve; therefore, it is imperative attention be given to ensuring the academic success of today’s fastest growing college population: first-generation Latin@ students. This study was founded on the principle that understanding the supports (experiences that decrease individual stress levels), challenges (experiences that increase individual stress levels), and coping strategies (behaviors used by the individual to relieve stress) described by first-generation Latin@ community college students who successfully persist in college will provide valuable information for reform efforts in higher education for all students.

Utilizing the …

Exploring The Cultural And Structural Barriers Justice-Involved Individuals Of Color Encounter In Urban Community Colleges, Eddie J. Phillips, Jr.

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the cultural and structural barriers justice-involved individuals of color encountered at an urban community college and the construct of stigma as a mechanism for creating cultural and structural barriers. Additionally, this study explores justice-involved individuals’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy as community college students. Findings revealed that all justice-involved individuals participating in the study encountered barriers. Despite the cultural and structural barriers participants encountered, many expressed a positive sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and “gifts” based on their newly discovered purpose as college students. Cultural and structural barriers, as well as a new sense of pride and purpose, …

College Student Confidence In Career Readiness Competencies, April Pickett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

There is an expectation of college students to transition to their post college workplace with the necessary competencies to be successful. This study sought to explore college students’ perspective on their confidence in career readiness competencies and the experiences and activities in and out of the classroom that they feel contribute to their career readiness. Current college students may provide perspectives that illuminate how to design and develop student activities and events for workplace preparedness; therefore, an exploration into student experiences with university curricula, programs, and student services may give some insight to the learning environments that facilitate opportunities to …

High-Impact Practices Support Second-Year Students' Academic Success, Engagement And Persistence, Melissa M. Cavazos-Eichelberger

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of ten second-year students who participated in the Success Program at Midwestern four-year university. As part of the Success Program, these participants also participated in several high impact practices (HIPs) throughout their first year. Participants in this study shared their perceptions on the benefits of HIPs, how HIPs improved their academic success and engagement, making them want to persist, and any barriers they experienced, prohibiting their participation in HIPs. Findings indicated students perceived HIPs (a) enhanced academic success, (b) increased community engagement, (c) improved the likelihood of their persistence, and (d) that targeted HIPs should …

Integrating Quality Improvement Concepts Into Nursing Curriculum: Perspectives Of Associate Degree Nurse Faculty, Debbie Krachtus

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since the groundbreaking report To Err is Human, there has been an increased focus on outcomes and quality improvement (QI) in healthcare. This focus has resulted in a change in nursing education. Nursing programs and nurse educators have been directed to integrate QI into nursing curriculum using innovative teaching methods. However, the voices of Associate Degree Nurse (ADN) educators are absent from the literature. This qualitative research study used a phenomenological approach to ascertain ADN educators’ perspectives about integrating QI into their curriculum. The central questions of this research were: what are ADN faculty views on the integration of QI …

Excess Credit Accumulation Impact On Degree Attainment For Community College Students, Stacy Riley

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between excess credit accumulation and timely degree completion for community college degree-seeking students. The research model used in this study is based on quantitative logistic and linear regression models, whereby the dependent variable was degree attainment within 150% of normal time and time to degree measured in months respectively. This study included all students admitted to a technical diploma or associate degree program excluding one-course technical diplomas over a five-year period (2011-2016) for a total of 27,133 observations at a southeastern Wisconsin technical college.

The study’s findings showed there was no statistically …