Education Commons^™

Online Course Communication And International Student Academic Performance, Christie L. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online course communication activities can be used to support the social and cognitive needs of students in online courses, but when those students are international students from across the globe studying in the United States where there are language and cultural differences, online learning can be a challenge. The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate international students’ online course communication behaviors and their academic performance in order to inform quality online course development and delivery. In this qualitative case study, semistructured interviews with 11 undergraduate international students were conducted, online course communication behaviors were observed, and five faculty …

Hazy Team Composition Processes: Shared Team Leadership, A Strategy To Team Excellence In Higher Education, Pervaiz Masih

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teamwork is an emergent property of efficacious organizations. Team-based and result-oriented organizational structures are gaining momentum, increasing 6% each year. Over 80% of organizations globally deploy teams by putting ordinary people to work together for extraordinary performance. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is a unique institute that teaches foreign languages in an immersive and team-based environment. This mixed-methods research study investigated (a) the teaching team composition processes, (b) the applicability of trust and diversity in team composition, and (c) the impact of shared team leadership in the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Data were collected from 82 …

First-Year Seminar And Its Impact On Retention At A Small Liberal Arts College In South Carolina, Michael A. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

First-Year Seminar (FYS) courses have been the foundational building blocks for academic and nonacademic success for first-year college freshman since the late 1970s. With the focus on improving retention and persistence, FYS courses have been viewed as the resource that connects freshmen to the faculty, staff, student, and campus environment. Therefore, it is vital to see the impact that it has had on students and how it can further develop persistence through graduation. The researcher conducted this basic qualitative study to look for emerging themes of sophomore experience in the FYS courses and how that impacted their persistence and retention …

Exploring The Challenges And Barriers Of Professional Practice Experience In Health Information Management Education, Darla D. Branda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional practice experience in health information management education provides students with the opportunity to apply theory to practice and prepare for the workforce. Yet, problems exist with placing and precepting students at healthcare organizations. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and barriers that preceptors have with placing and precepting students at their organizations. For this action research study, a qualitative multicase study was carried out. Data were collected from six participants using pre-interview surveys and interviews. The sample population included credentialed health information professionals currently working in acute care hospital settings with a recent history of …

Understanding The Barriers East Texas Community College Students Experience In Transferring To A Regional University, Kelly Leigh Coke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a plethora of research available on students and the barriers they face in transferring to a university, such as transfer processes, articulations, pathways, 2+2 plans, institutional agents, and financial issues. However, in rural areas of Texas, little research is available on the barriers students endure in transferring from community colleges to four-year universities. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to determine the transfer barriers faced by a community college student population and the support services needed for their successful transfers to four-year universities. The framework that guided this study was transfer student capital and transfer shock. …

Virtual Reality For Public Speaking Rehearsals: Student And Faculty Perceptions, Carrie A. Saltsman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Speeches and speech rehearsals are an important part of many basic communication courses. However, instructors are developing new ways for students to rehearse their speeches every day; one way may be for students to use virtual reality. Although virtual reality is somewhat of a new innovation, it is effective in various settings, including higher education, and more specifically, the speech classroom. However, this efficacy may not matter if students and instructors are unwilling to adopt it into the classroom. Diffusion of innovation theory, developed by Rogers (2003), focuses on how an innovation is diffused and adopted. Using two of the …

Testimonios Of Resilient Salvadoran Immigrants Who Graduated From A Public High School In The United States And Pursued Further Education, Leticia Ann Guzman Ingram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There was little research-based understanding of how immigrant students manage to flourish and seek postsecondary educational opportunities. Understanding the experiences of Salvadoran immigrants who graduated from high school could enable educators in the United States to meet their needs more effectively. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore through the testimonios of the experiences of Salvadoran immigrants who graduated from a public high school in the United States and were currently pursuing further education or a career. The research design was narrative research, and the data were used to discern how immigrant youth learn to flourish to answer …

Integrating Interprofessional Education Into Teacher Preparation Curriculum: Reimagining Partnerships From The Inside Out, Jennifer Lauren Rogers Edd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods program evaluation sought to identify elements of collaboration within interprofessional education experiences and provide suggestions regarding the future implementation of interprofessional education experiences into the identified teacher preparation program. Program suggestions were informed by the perspectives of current teacher preparation faculty, recent teacher preparation graduates, and other professional stakeholders. Other professional stakeholders are those who have a vested interest in a program. Quantitative data, in the form of descriptive statistics, was collected through a needs assessment tool completed by teacher preparation faculty participants and the Texas Education Agency Principal Survey completed by administrators overseeing first-year teachers who were …

Utilization Of Disability Services By Students With Nonvisible Disabilities, Cristina A. Figueroa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative case study was conducted to examine ways to increase the use of disability services at 4-year universities. Individual interviews were conducted to see how students and staff members felt the use of disability services could be improved. Five students with nonvisible disabilities and four disability and student services staff members participated in the study. Interviews focused on transition, use of campus services, self-advocacy, and knowledge of disability services. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data, and a total of 20 themes were derived from the interviews. Themes focused on the following topics: self-identification is personal, faculty attitude …

Exploring Online Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study For First-Year College Students, Leandrian J. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American first-year college students are faced with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which can have a negative impact on their academic performance. Research shows that students who suffer from mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, fear their condition will be perceived negatively by their peers and professors. The literature also suggests that U.S. colleges and universities can be more proactive in offering students resources for their mental health concerns to decrease anxiety and depression. It appears that absent or limited mental health resources have failed to address rising cases of student mental illness, and more specifically, …

The Reciprocity Of Mentorship: Impacting Christian Higher Education, Alessandra Brohmer Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis was to explore the lived experiences of students and faculty engaged in mutually beneficial mentoring relationships at Christian universities. A dearth of current research focused on the experiences of emerging adults and on the benefits to mentors in a Christian context prompted this inquiry. Semi-structured interviews were completed virtually with two mentor-mentee dyads, while data analysis included use of qualitative research software as well as original phenomenological reduction and interpretation. Findings provided insights not only into the meaning student mentees ascribed to mentoring but also into the perceptions of faculty mentors. Despite different …

Attachment And Identity In Higher Education: Lived Experiences Of Korean Adoptees, Janeice A. Garrard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

South Korea has been the largest sending country of adoptees since the Korean War. Many of the adoptees were placed in predominantly White communities in the Midwest United States. In the existing literature, researchers revealed that Korean adoptees expressed feelings related to loss of ethnic identity, birth culture, and place of belonging. It has not been fully understood how attachment and identity influence Korean adoptees in their pursuit of a higher education. Therefore, this study sought to examine the impacts of attachment to birth culture, adoptive culture, and adoptive family combined with issues of ethnic identity in the lived …

A Case Study Of One Small Christian College Overcoming Decline And Implementing An Institutional Turnaround, Richard H. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies and national data show a growing number of small, private, Christian colleges face extreme difficulties, which often result in decline, followed by closure or merging with larger, higher education institutions. Attempting to overcome the loss of student revenue from a declining enrollment, many small colleges raise tuition prices, spend endowment funds, and overextend themselves with high debt payments. Countering the increased tuition prices, these colleges often increase scholarships and financial aid, which reduces available funds for other institutional needs. Other challenging issues include meeting accreditation standards, raising money for operational and capital needs, and the general public losing …

The Relationship Between Career And Technical Education Enrollment And College And Career Readiness Outcomes, Daniel Soliz Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College and career readiness for K-12 students has become a priority of legislatures and educational leaders in the United States. In recent years, Texas public school leaders have emphasized the importance of maximizing the percentage of College, Career and Military Ready (CCMR) graduates. The specific problem studied was that a low percentage of students in Texas, in comparison to the state’s graduation rate, graduate with a CCMR distinction. Career and Technical Education (CTE), a component of K-12 education, can assist school leaders in maximizing college and career readiness for students. However, it was not clear how within schools, CTE enrollment …

Persistence And Retention Strategies Implemented At Hbcus That Support Successful Degree Attainment Of African American Men, Fetera D. Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While minority students are enrolling in college at record numbers, their completion rate is significantly lower than their Caucasian peers. This gap is particularly evident among African American men. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe persistence and retention strategies implemented by HBCUs which support successful degree attainment of African American men. Framed by Tinto’s model of institutional departure, a descriptive instrumental case study design utilized data from semistructured online interviews and voluntarily submitted artifacts to explore the academic and social experiences of nine African American men who successfully completed a degree from an HBCU within the …

College Recruitment Of Low-Income Underrepresented Minority Students, Cassady M. Ogedegbe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the use of discriminatory recruitment procedures against low-income unrepresented minority (URM) students at four-year private institutions based on enrollment managers’ and college recruiters’ beliefs, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions was this study’s focus. Specifically, the following were investigated: (a) how enrollment managers perceive their role in recruiting low-income URM students, (b) how college recruiters understand their role in recruiting low-income URM students, (c) the effective strategies enrollment managers use to prepare recruiters for recruiting low-income URM students, and (d) the differential impact in recruiting low-income URM students versus their counterparts. A supporting factor explored further in this study …