Digital Commons Network^™

Reconciling Self-Censorship: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of University Staff And Administrators, Leigh C. Morales

Doctoral Dissertations

In addition to a global pandemic, the past three years have been marked by racial, social, and political unrest. These circumstances add meaningful context to examine and better understand factors that undermine free expression and contribute to self-censorship among university staff and administrators. To date, few studies have holistically explored the unique experiences of university staff and administrators with self-censorship and how this phenomenon affects their experience on college and university campuses. Understanding why staff and administrators choose to self-censor may allow for a deeper discussion about speech climate and the degree to which colleges and universities implement and uphold …

An Examination Of University Employees' Green Workplace Behaviors, Stephanie Nicole Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

As colleges and universities implement or enhance campus sustainability programs and administrators seek to understand the impact of such programs on their campuses, much effort has focused on understanding the green behavior of students enrolled at these institutions. However, given that universities employ large numbers of faculty and staff, it is also important to understand employees’ green behaviors. This descriptive survey research study sought to better understand the green behaviors of employees at a research university in the southeastern part of the United States. Potential participants were emailed a link to an online Qualtrics survey consisting of 31 closed and …

Learning By Doing: Preparing Student Activists For Democratic Engagement, Marjorie G. Valdivia

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how college students' experiences with co-curricular social justice advocacy activities supports capacity-building for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. Given the increasing and widening of economic inequality in the U.S. (Hernandez Kent & Ricketts, 2020), exploring how co-curricular experiences in higher education settings can support students to gain capacities for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. While there is a significant amount of scholarship on how diversity education and service-learning contribute to college students' civic engagement, the literature on student involvement in campus activism on progressive, democratic, civic engagement is sparse (Kezar & Maxey, 2014) Using a mixed methods approach, this …

Enacting A Critical Media Production Pedagogy, James D. Swerzenski

Doctoral Dissertations

This project draws upon earlier calls—particularly in the critical pedagogy, critical media literacy, and cultural production fields—to outline a teaching approach that balances technical media production practices and critical media studies. I refer to this synthesis as critical media production pedagogy. This blending of critical analysis and technical skill, I argue, is especially important at the university level where my research is focused, as students in these courses will likely enter industry fields in which they can influence culture on a mass level. Creating opportunities for a media theory/production synthesis enables students to translate critical ideas beyond the academy and …

How Well Does The New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program Work For Black Men? A Mixed Methods Study, Michael A. Dejesus Iii

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research trended towards a deficit-oriented approach to understanding and explaining Black male underachievement. The past education research has focused on discussing the underachievement of Black males in Higher education. Finding solutions often were prescriptive in “fixing” behaviors in Black males to improve academic achievement. Additionally, there has been a trend towards race-neutrality in education policies, programs, and admissions criteria. And there is a lack of research on whether race-neutrality further exacerbates Black male underachievement by ignoring key race and gender targeted supports services that could improve Black male academic outcomes in higher education. While Black men have historically struggled …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Second-Year African American Male Students On Predominantly White Campuses Through Critical Race Theory, Craig S. Pickett Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Title: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Second-Year African American Male Students on Predominantly White Campuses through the Lens of Critical Race Theory

Abstract:

The critical nature of the first year has pushed thousands of colleges and universities across the United States to create intentional programs specifically for first-year students. Less understood are the experiences of students during their second year – a different and, at times, even more challenging period. Second-year students face a myriad of issues, including achieving competence, desiring autonomy, establishing identity, and developing purpose, with many experiencing a phenomenon called the sophomore slump. …

Who Benefits From Deferred Entry To College?: Exploring The Relationships Between College Deferment, Postsecondary Academic Success, And Institutional Selectivity, Gabriel Reif

Doctoral Dissertations

Prior research on delayed entry and gap years have produced conflicting results on the relationships between deferring entry to college and postsecondary academic success. Specifically, studies on delayed entry have linked the phenomenon to lower attainment rates, while the literature on gap years has shown a positive relationship with college GPA. These conflicting findings make it unclear for students, families, counselors, administrators, and policymakers to understand whether deferring entry to college is an opportunity that should be pursued by more individuals or if it is something to be avoided. The focus of this dissertation was to bring prior findings on …

Class, Family Involvement, And Asian American Four And Two-Year College Students’ Experiences Of Advantage And Disadvantage, Blair Harrington

Doctoral Dissertations

While the significance of familial support in college receives substantial and growing attention, Asian American college students’ experiences of such support remain unclear. In a series of three articles that draw on a total of 140 intensive semi-structured interviews, this dissertation explores the effect class has on students’ experiences of three different types of familial support: 1) students’ receipt of parental support, 2) students’ provision of parental support, and 3) students’ receipt of sibling support. The first article “The Power of Class and Not Institution Type: Asian American Four and Two-Year College Students’ Receipt of Parental Support” employs a …

New Ways Of Being And Knowing: Women Ph.D. Students Exploring Embodiment Through Feminist Phenomenological Photovoice, Anna Fox Reilly

Doctoral Dissertations

Being a Ph.D. student is a privilege in many ways, and it is not easy. Mind-body dualist patterns of thought and behavior within academia ignore the embodied experiences of being a woman Ph.D. student. Mental health, sexual harassment, family planning, and social relationships are among the challenges that women are often expected to handle on their own or are ignored altogether. With 20 women Ph.D. student participants, this feminist phenomenological photovoice project answers the questions: For those who self-identify as women, what is the essence of the embodied Ph.D. experience? To what extent does the experience of being in a …

An Endarkened Autoethnographic Approach To Peer Co-Curricular Dialogue Facilitation Training, Amari L. Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative study drawing on endarkened feminist epistemology (Dillard, 2001), autoethnography (Jones, Adams,& Ellis, 2013), and Blackgirl autoethnography (Boylorn, 2016), each of which challenges the traditional roles between researchers and the researched, educators and students, and in the case of this study, dialogue facilitators in-training, and their dialogue facilitation educator. The purpose of this study was to capture the ways in which six Peer Dialogue Facilitators (PDFs) and myself, a Black woman and facilitation educator, perceive ourselves as facilitators of color and navigate facilitation obstacles amidst our new global pandemic reality. This study will utilize group interviews …

The Devil Did Not Make Me Do It: Understanding Factors That Influence College Choice Of A Faith-Based Institution, Phillip Lowell Cook Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

The process of choosing a college can be quite difficult for high school students and their families. If the student considers issues of faith in this process, it can cause additional complexity. While researchers have examined many factors that influence the college selection process (Baliyan, 2016; Espinosa, Bradshaw & Hausman, 2000; Noel-Levitz, 2012; Nurnberg, Schapiro, & Zimmerman, 2012; Perez, 2008; Tucciarone, 2007), there is little research that focuses on the factors that influence the selection of a faith-based institution. Research shows the factors that affect this process are varied and include the influence of parents (MacCallum, Glover, Queen, & Riggs, …

Utilization And Effect Of Multiple Content Modalities In Online Higher Education: Shifting Trajectories Toward Success Through Universal Design For Learning, Catherine A. Manly

Doctoral Dissertations

The idea that offering multiple means of representing course content will assist students of all abilities constitutes one pillar of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework intended to address needs of students with disabilities while also holding relevance for all students. The efficacy of this UDL guideline lacks a verified empirical basis and therefore merits rigorous examination. My dissertation investigates the effect on learning outcomes of students using multiple modalities while learning course content (e.g., text, video, audio, interactive, or mixed content), targeting improving educational success for non-traditional online students. I investigate this effect for older undergraduates from a …

The Collegiate Black Space: Black College Students’ Use Of New Counter-Spaces For Support, Knowledge Production, And Organizing For Activism, Heather Streets

Doctoral Dissertations

Black collegians who attend historically white institutions continue to struggle with racism, microaggressions, feelings of alienation, minimal or improper advising, and an undue pressure to prove themselves (Bonner, 2010; Feagin & Sikes, 1995; Strayhorn, 2010). These barriers to success result in part due to a lack of support from the colleges and universities that they attend (Allen, 1992; Parker, Puig, Johnson & Anthony, Jr., 2016). With institutional benefits designed to benefit white students over students of color, Black students must find their own alternatives for collaboration and to provide support for their peers.

Many Black spaces can be defined as …