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Qualitative Case Study Regarding Experiences Of Freedom Of Speech On College And University Campuses In The United States, Jeffrey Dana Ward Dec 2023

Qualitative Case Study Regarding Experiences Of Freedom Of Speech On College And University Campuses In The United States, Jeffrey Dana Ward

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine how suppression of free speech on college and university campuses in Southtown, USA affects student self-efficacy. The theory guiding my study is Bandura’s social cognitive theory as it will evaluate the interplay between the system and environment sources of influence at Secular university Christian university in Southtown, USA. How has freedom of speech on college and university campuses affected the self-efficacy of college students in faith-based organizations? Interviews and focus groups were utilized to collect data for this central research question. Thematic analysis and coding was utilized to analyze the data collected. …


Perceptions Of Student Loan Debt And The Decision To Pursue Higher Education: A Qualitative Case Study Of African American High School Students, Adrian J. Wilkins Apr 2023

Perceptions Of Student Loan Debt And The Decision To Pursue Higher Education: A Qualitative Case Study Of African American High School Students, Adrian J. Wilkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to examine African American high school students’ perceptions surrounding potential student loan debt burden and its perceived influence on the decisions to enter HEIs. The purpose of this study stems from the current status of student loan debt as a significant factor in the decision-making process for potential higher education students as well as current students and those who have graduated. The central research question of this study was what are African American high school student perceptions of student loan debt, student loan debt burden, financial aid, and how are those perceptions influencing …


Prevalence And Correlates Of Food And Housing Insecurities At A Historically Black College, Melissa Massey Lockard Apr 2022

Prevalence And Correlates Of Food And Housing Insecurities At A Historically Black College, Melissa Massey Lockard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to determine the prevalence of food and housing insecurities at one historically Black college and explore whether these insecurities influence students’ academic performance or their mental health quality. The study also explored possible predictors of students at risk of experiencing these basic needs challenges. A convenience sample of 175 participant surveys was collected in the fall 2021 semester at the small, private, liberal arts college in urban South Carolina. The instruments used in the survey included the USDA’s 6-item Household Food Security Survey Module, the Housing Insecurity and Homelessness Module, the …


Connections Between The Enneagram Personality Type Of Christian University Presidents And Provosts With Student Enrollment, Pamela J. Daly Jun 2021

Connections Between The Enneagram Personality Type Of Christian University Presidents And Provosts With Student Enrollment, Pamela J. Daly

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Limited research has examined the relationship between the Enneagram personality styles of faith-based university presidents/provosts and the institution’s student enrollment size. While there are many personality theories, the Enneagram is a sophisticated model that exposes the unconscious predispositions, motivations, anxieties, and behavioral tendencies of nine different personality profiles. Ego development is the evolution of personality constructs that integrate experiences into a personal framework of interpreting self and the world. Ego maturity is demonstrated by understanding self and others with the ability and motivation to maximize individual potential. Mature leaders exhibit wisdom, broad empathy towards self and others, tolerance of differing …


A Phenomenological Study Of Instructors’ Experiences With Receiving And Utilizing Student Feedback In Online Course, Stanley T. Triplett Apr 2021

A Phenomenological Study Of Instructors’ Experiences With Receiving And Utilizing Student Feedback In Online Course, Stanley T. Triplett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore how community college online course instructors at a large community college in the Deep South experience students’ feedback to reevaluate course quality and instruction. The central question of the study regarded how community college online instructors experience receiving and engaging with student evaluations. The theory guiding this study was Knowles’s theory of andragogy as it provides a framework for understanding adult learning, including those of adult learners in community college contexts as well as those instructors receiving and responding to student evaluations of teaching. A total of 11 instructors …


African American Women In Leadership In Faith-Based Higher Education: A Qualitative Study, Michael Charles Walker Mar 2021

African American Women In Leadership In Faith-Based Higher Education: A Qualitative Study, Michael Charles Walker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

African American women hold unique experiences in the pursuit of leadership roles within faith-based colleges and universities. Since leadership occurs within a cultural context, there is sound reason to explore if transformational leadership behavior could positively impact the lived experiences of African American women within faith-based colleges and universities who seek to enter into leadership roles. The survey was cross-sectional with data collected at one period and returned to the researcher. This research design utilized qualitative interview as the means of data collection. Five open-ended research questions guided the research study. Women were qualified for sampling with employment at a …


A Phenomenological Study Examining The Challenges And Strategies Of Students Who Are Parents In The Higher Education Setting, Amy Joelle Dewitt Mar 2021

A Phenomenological Study Examining The Challenges And Strategies Of Students Who Are Parents In The Higher Education Setting, Amy Joelle Dewitt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the challenges of student-parents, or those students who are also parents, in higher education and discover the strategies that this student population has found to overcome such challenges. Participants included student-parents who attended residential classes, online, and/or in hybrid formats at a public institution. Tinto’s (2012) theory of student persistence guided this study with the abundance of trials student-parents encounter through their student career. Knowles’ (1990) theory of adult learning and views on self-directed learning also contributed to this study examining how students learn as adults who take accountability for …


The Intersection Of Job Satisfaction, Job Dissatisfaction, And Motivation Of Instructional Designers In Online Higher Education: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Laura Elaine Dykstra Jul 2020

The Intersection Of Job Satisfaction, Job Dissatisfaction, And Motivation Of Instructional Designers In Online Higher Education: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Laura Elaine Dykstra

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Online education has become a significant part of the strategic growth and health of institutions of higher education (HEIs) today. Instructional designers support the strategic mission of the HEI, and while research to date has looked extensively at the role of the instructional designer in higher education, no research has looked at the experience of the instructional designer focusing specifically on the feelings and intersection of job satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and motivation. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand the experiences related to job satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and motivation for instructional designers working in online higher education. The theoretical …


Understanding Self-Efficacy Of Regional University Adjunct Faculty: A Qualitative Case Study, Aletta Brook Purdum Apr 2020

Understanding Self-Efficacy Of Regional University Adjunct Faculty: A Qualitative Case Study, Aletta Brook Purdum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the self-efficacy of adjunct faculty at Colonial State University (CSU; a pseudonym). The theories guiding this study were Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and Maslow’s human motivation theory since motivation-impacting self-efficacy was described as a dynamic that has definitive antecedents, but confidence in one’s abilities and skills can change as a result of personal achievements, individual experiences, outside influences, and purpose. This qualitative research was conducted to improve understanding about the self-efficacy of regional university adjunct faculty. There was a plethora of research available about adjunct faculty but none of that …


Growing Grit To Produce Doctoral Persistence: A Grounded Theory Study, Melanie Denise Moran Hudson Mar 2020

Growing Grit To Produce Doctoral Persistence: A Grounded Theory Study, Melanie Denise Moran Hudson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to generate a model explaining how grit and a growth mindset develop and influence doctoral persistence in doctoral completers. The theories guiding this study were Tinto’s (1975) student integration theory of college persistence, Duckworth’s (2016) theory of grit, and Dweck’s (2016) theory of mindset. Interview and reflective journaling data, as well as scores on the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth, 2016) and the Dweck Mindset Instrument (Dweck, 2016), from 12 doctoral completers were analyzed using systematic coding consistent with a grounded theory research design. The central research question of the study was, …


Foster Youth Transitioning To Independent Living And Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study, Janet P. Harrison Aug 2019

Foster Youth Transitioning To Independent Living And Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study, Janet P. Harrison

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of foster youth who aged out of foster care and enrolled in higher educational programs in rural areas of southern Virginia. The theory that guided this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it applied to higher educational pursuits of foster youth who had, or were about to, age out of foster care. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory also guided this study to identify additional barriers to higher education for foster youth. This phenomenological study used a transcendental research method. Data collection methods included face-to-face and phone interviews, focus …


Writing With Incarcerated Students Towards Humanization: A Christian Critical Perspective, Deanna C. Kabler May 2019

Writing With Incarcerated Students Towards Humanization: A Christian Critical Perspective, Deanna C. Kabler

Masters Theses

This thesis centers on the intersections between critical pedagogy and writing instruction in a prison college program with the aim of humanization. A theoretical framework is constructed that relies on the pillars of tenets from Liberation theology, critical pedagogy, an anti-racist and multicultural praxis, and generative culture-making. Writing as the foundation of education is the medium for supporting a humanizing and liberatory education.


A Logistic Regression Study Of How Pre-Enrollment Factors Predict Graduation At A Christian Historically Black University, Tara Laron Young Dec 2018

A Logistic Regression Study Of How Pre-Enrollment Factors Predict Graduation At A Christian Historically Black University, Tara Laron Young

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this logistic regression study is to review the pre-admission factors through the lenses of multiple retention constructs and graduation rates at a Christian, Historically Black College or University (HBCU). A binary logistic regression is used to analyze the odds of graduation based on a set of pre-admission factors of first-time freshmen, as predictor variables. In particular, the predictor variables of interest are eligibility of academic support based on academic scholarships, gender, international status, and type of high school attended. The outcome variable of interest is graduation. This study is important because it contributes to the scholarship in …


Employee Perceptions Of Succession Planning Within Higher Education: A Qualitative Case Study, Matthew Swanson Jun 2018

Employee Perceptions Of Succession Planning Within Higher Education: A Qualitative Case Study, Matthew Swanson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Higher education institutions provide programs and services in support of personal, professional, and community development. The positive impact of higher education is threatened by the imminent departures of experienced employees responsible for implementing institutional programs and services. Research suggests succession planning assists organizations in responding to the potential departures of experienced employees while successfully serving stakeholders, yet a majority of higher education institutions do not possess adequate succession planning programs. Employee perceptions are essential to developing and evaluating programs, however, there is currently a lack of available insight into employee perceptions pertaining to succession planning within the field of higher …


Exploring The Impact Of Undergraduate Intramural Sports On Undergraduate Students’ Perceived Sense Of Community: A Multiple Regression Analysis, Nathan Penland Aug 2017

Exploring The Impact Of Undergraduate Intramural Sports On Undergraduate Students’ Perceived Sense Of Community: A Multiple Regression Analysis, Nathan Penland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research has shown benefits to the student experience for college students when they participate in intramural sports on university campuses. These benefits include improved physical and social health as well as academic performance. This non-experimental, predictive correlational study sought to understand if a relationship exists between the predictive variables of length and frequency in intramural sports and sense of community as the criterion outcome with undergraduate students on private liberal arts campuses. Participants were undergraduate students from two institutions of similar size, and sense of community was measured by Chavis, Lee, and Acosta’s (2008) Sense of Community Index 2 (SCI-2) …


How Math Avoidance Influences Degree Completion For Bible College Students: A Case Study Of A Small, Private Institution In Upstate New York, Bonnie Novak Sep 2016

How Math Avoidance Influences Degree Completion For Bible College Students: A Case Study Of A Small, Private Institution In Upstate New York, Bonnie Novak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to describe math perception and avoidance for ministerial undergraduate students at a small, private Bible college in upstate New York. In the research, math avoidance was generally defined as the participants’ perception of math, their delay in completing a credit-bearing math course until their senior year or not at all, and their own learning or degree completion as a result. The theories guiding this study were Tinto’s Retention Theory/Model of Institutional Departure, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Estep’s Theory of Christian Formation. The central question was: How does math avoidance influence persistence …


Academic Performance, Retention Rates, And Persistence Rates Of First-Year, First-Generation, Latino College Students, Jaime Duran Aug 2016

Academic Performance, Retention Rates, And Persistence Rates Of First-Year, First-Generation, Latino College Students, Jaime Duran

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative quantitative study was to examine the relationships between the efficacy of a Summer Bridge Academy (SBA) and the impact on students by measuring the Grade Point Averages (GPAs), retention rates, and persistence rates of first-generation, first-year, Latino college students who participated in a SBA at Central Valley Community College against like students who did not participate in same program. The independent variable was participation in a 6 week long SBA, which took place during the summer of 2011. The dependent variables were GPAs, retention rates, and persistence rates, and the control and intervening variables, students …


A Fruitful College Campus Ministry: A Mixed-Method Case Study Of Vassar Christian Fellowship At Vassar College, Jacob T. Dunlow Jan 2016

A Fruitful College Campus Ministry: A Mixed-Method Case Study Of Vassar Christian Fellowship At Vassar College, Jacob T. Dunlow

Christian Perspectives in Education

Given the increased scrutiny and difficulty Christian student organizations are encountering on secular college campuses, study is needed to aid in forming a way forward for fruitful campus ministry. This article presents a case study of a student campus ministry that is currently thriving in its secular liberal arts environment. It utilized a mixed-method approach to discover seven factors that led to vibrancy for Vassar Christian Fellowship, a student ministry at Vassar College. Application is focused on campus ministries and local churches.


The Spiritual Therapeutic Preferences Of Online Learners And On-Campus Learners At A Christian College, Debra Masterson Oct 2014

The Spiritual Therapeutic Preferences Of Online Learners And On-Campus Learners At A Christian College, Debra Masterson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to see if there was a difference in the spiritual therapeutic preferences of students at a Christian college who stay on-campus or students who take classes online. This study also investigated for differences in preferences between males and females as well as graduate students compared to undergraduate students. This study tested to see if there was a relationship between stress and spiritual therapeutic preferences among on-campus students and online students. Relative spiritual therapeutic preferences were assessed by the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutic Scale, and relative levels of stress were assessed by the Perceived Stress …


The Leadership Practices Of Non-Traditional Students Pursuing A Bachelor's Degree: A Predictive Study, Michael Ammons Mar 2014

The Leadership Practices Of Non-Traditional Students Pursuing A Bachelor's Degree: A Predictive Study, Michael Ammons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This non-experimental, regression study examined the relationship between leadership practices and academic achievement for a non-traditional student population. The study was conducted at a small, four-year private college in Eastern North Carolina. The sample consisted of N=146 (73 male, 73 female) non-traditional students enrolled in an accelerated bachelor's degree program. Volunteer participants completed the survey which consisted of the Leadership Practice Inventory-Self (LPI) (Kouzes & Posner, 1998) assessment and a demographic questionnaire. Kouzes and Posner's (2007) model of Transformational Leadership Theory is used to explain the leadership practices of non-traditional students. The results of the survey were analyzed using hierarchal …


Instructor Interaction As It Relates To Facilitation Of Spiritual Development Within An Evangelical Institution: A Case Study, Joseph Butler Dec 2013

Instructor Interaction As It Relates To Facilitation Of Spiritual Development Within An Evangelical Institution: A Case Study, Joseph Butler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the impact of instructor interaction on the facilitation of spiritual development in an online environment for undergraduate non-religion majors attending a distinctively evangelical university. The qualitative case study shadows and evaluates three sections of a required introductory religion course. Over the period of one academic term, the following online interactions were observed in order to gauge potential facilitation of spiritual development: announcements, emails, forums, assignment feedback, and course content. An interview was conducted with the instructor following the course to understand how they engaged the course and their perspective in …


Increasing Our Reach While Preserving Quality: Creating And Using Information Literacy Assessments And Rubrics For Non-Librarians, Angela Rice, Rory Patterson, Jeremy Roden May 2013

Increasing Our Reach While Preserving Quality: Creating And Using Information Literacy Assessments And Rubrics For Non-Librarians, Angela Rice, Rory Patterson, Jeremy Roden

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.