Education Commons^™

An Examination Of How Feminist Perspectives And Generational Differences Lnfluence The Leadership Practices Of Women Administrators In Higher Education, Marlene Kowalski-Braun

Dissertations

This study explored how feminist perspectives and generational differences influence the leadership practice of women administrators in higher education, specifically, how they lead and create institutional change. It examined the experiences of seven women who identified as feminists, who were part of Generation X, and who were at the mid-level, aspiring to senior-level, or in senior-level positions.

Phenomenology was the qualitative methodology used in this study to uncover how these women made meaning of their feminist and generational identities. The approach was grounded in feminist methodology and utilized feminist standpoint theory to legitimize women as “knowers.” It drew on a …

A Content Analysis Of Implicit Legislator Discourses Within The Passage Of The South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act (2008): Implications For Opportunity And Access To Higher Education, Katie Smith

All Dissertations

On June 4, 2008, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford signed the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act into law. According to the Act (Section 59-101-430), 'an alien unlawfully present in the United States is not eligible to attend a public institution of higher learning in [South Carolina]'. After the passage of this legislation, public colleges and universities in South Carolina were prohibited from enrolling (or reenrolling) undocumented immigrants as students, and are now required to verify the legal status of all students, through the federal e-verify system. This legislation represents a true limiting of higher education opportunities, as well as …

Breaking Ground On The University Garden: Service-Learning And Action Research, Bryce Collin Davis

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to document, analyze, understand, and describe how the environmental virtue ethics of undergraduate students were impacted after participating in a service-learning project designed to establish a new university garden. This service-learning project occurred during the fall semester of 2011, on the campus of Lighthouse University, a mid-size Catholic college campus that is located in an urban area of Southern California. The service-learning component was embedded within one environmental ethics course. Over the course of one sixteen-week academic semester, thirty undergraduates, between the ages of 18-23, each volunteered ten hours in this new on-campus garden. …

In Search Of Social Justice Praxis: A Critical Examination Of Senior Student Affairs Officers' Leadership Practices, Ryan P. Barone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the highest ranking administrators in divisions of student affairs, Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) have the substantial opportunity to perform leadership in a manner which realizes social justice processes and goals. Framed by critical postmodernism (Tierney & Rhoads, 1993), this study uses educational criticism and connoisseurship (Eisner, 1976, 1998, 2002) to document the social justice leadership practices of two SSAOs. In depth narratives give rich descriptions of the nuances of social justice leadership as enacted by the SSAOs. Critical interpretation and evaluation of these practices is woven throughout the study. Themes relevant for the field of higher education in …

Examining Fully Online Degree Students' Perceptions Of Online Student Support Services: A Mixed Method Study Using Grounded Theory And Rasch Analysis, Tamara Dean Heimberg

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The higher education market is becoming much more competitive as more students are attracted to online courses and online degree programs. In order to remain competitive, higher education institutions must provide students access to online support services. However, an online student support services plan is an often overlooked component of an online initiative even though it is a critical factor in the overall success of an online program.

This research specifically focuses on online student support services for students enrolled in fully online degree programs in an effort to identify the most important online student support services from students’ perspectives, …

A Phenomenological Study Into How Students Experience And Understand The University Presidency, Kahler B. Schuemann

Dissertations

Little is known about how college students experience and understand the university presidency. Students are important consumers of the academic experience and by affiliation are constituents of organizational leadership. The social distance between students and university presidents continues to narrow. To address the void in scholarly literature, my study explored how students experience and understand the university presidency.

My investigation utilized phenomenological methodology to form descriptive themes. I interviewed 10 college students who self-identified as being involved with extracurricular activities and having, at minimum, occasional interaction with their president. Participants were selected from two small, public, Midwestern universities where their …