Education Commons^™

Intragroup Marginalization Among Latinx Migrant Farmworker College Students, Annette Calvario Perales

Dissertations

The Latinx population is the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States (U.S.) (Passel et al., 2014). There are nearly 2 million migrant families in the U.S. (Tippett, 2020). Most migrant families live below the poverty level, and children often provide significant supplemental income to that of their parents’ (Zalaquett et al., 2007). Many migrant families are faced with various challenges, such as secluded living conditions, financial instability, physical and mental health barriers, and educational barriers (Dreby, 2015; Thompson et al., 2002; BPHC, 1995). In addition, migrant students frequently find themselves in a dilemma between providing financial assistance to …

A Meta-Analysis On Non-Cognitive Predictors Of College Student Academic Performance, Maggie Allphin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are many factors that affect student success, often measured with academic performance. Research has shown that students attribute stress as a major factor that affects their academic performance (Frazier et al., 2018). This suggests that the ability to cope with stress can improve academic performance. Studies have shown that higher emotional intelligence is linked to higher ability to cope with stress (Wang, Xie, and Cui, 2016). In this meta-analysis, I looked into the relationship across multiple studies between emotional intelligence, grade point average, and other non-cognitive predictors. For the first meta-analysis, seven records relating emotional intelligence to academic performance …

An Intervention Study On Mindfulness Meditation And Mindfulness, Stress, Flourishing, And Academic Achievement In A First-Year Experience Seminar, Elizabeth S. Bambacus

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the two research questions, 1) what are the relationships among the pretest latent variables mindfulness, stress, and flourishing and the manifest variables GPA and retention in first-year college students in a first-year experience seminar and 2) will there be differences in mindfulness, stress, flourishing, GPA, and retention between groups of students in a first-year experience seminar who received a brief mindfulness intervention and those who did not? To answer these questions, the author analyzed secondary data collected from 373 first-year college students at a large public research university who took Introduction to the University (UNIV 101).

The …

How Scholarship Programs Facilitate First-Generation College Students’ Involvement, Maria C. Restrepo Chavez

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As a first-generation college student, I am interested in the on-campus involvement and experiences of other first-generation college students. First-generation college students are those whose parents did not receive a university degree and tend to come from low-income families. This project explores programs designed to support and enrich the experiences of such students. The Centennial Scholars Program at James Madison University and the Presidential Scholarship Initiative at Virginia Tech aim to increase the socio-economic diversity on each campus. These programs provide students with full funding for four years, mentorship, professional development and social benefits, among others. In turn, students become …

Predictors Of Academic Achievement Of Non-Traditional College Students: Opportunities To Catch-Up And Succeed, Angela Bardwell-Owens

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Non-traditional students make up approximately 20% of the undergraduate student population nationwide and are one of few segments of the student population that are not provided with targeted programs and services. To help this cohort achieve their goals whilst universities can increase their retention rates, this research begins a review of the non-traditional student literature to gain an understanding of what this population faces as far as barriers to their education. The literature also provides recommendations and further information in retention efforts to support the student during their academic years. Next, an analysis of non-traditional student support services at 4-year …

I Am Here For A Reason. I Need To Focus. I Need To Learn So I Can Reach My Goal: Self-Advocacy And Motivation As Contributors To The Experiences Of College Students With Physical Disabilities, Latrecha Kasha Scott

Dissertations

Although researchers have studied “the role of self-determination in facilitating transition planning and services, very little is known about the impact of those supports and services from the students’ perspective once they are in postsecondary settings” (Getzel & Thoma, 2008). In addition, literature was limited regarding the impact of self-determination from the student perspective after enrollment into higher education (Denhart, 2008; Fuller, Bradley & Healey, 2004; Getzel & Thoma, 2008). Using a qualitative design, this study explores the contributions of self-advocacy and motivation to the experiences of higher education students with physical disabilities. The purpose of this study was to …

The Relationship Of Growth Mindset And Goal-Setting In A First-Year College Course, Chelsea E. Sorensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found that mindset and goal orientation are intricately related in motivation and academic achievement, which holds significant implications for students in higher education (Dweck, 2009). While growth mindset-focused intervention has been studied, finding improvement in mastery goal-setting (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck, 2007), goal-focused intervention accounting for student mindset has not. Firstyear college students’ implicit theory of intelligence, or mindset, was measured before they were randomly assigned to set either a mastery- or performance-based goal in relation to their first exam in a difficult chemistry course. Upon receiving their first exam score, students were free to set whatever …

Using Narrative And Re-Membering Conversations In A Bereavement Group With Students Impacted By Suicide, Krystal J. Howard, Caryn L. Kruse

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

To date, there have been no studies utilizing a narrative bereavement model for students impacted by suicide, in a group counseling setting. The present project intends to fill a gap in the literature. We sought to answer the research question, “Do narrative lines of inquiry, specifically re-membering conversations, help to ameliorate the pain of a loved one’s death by suicide?” We hypothesized that re-membering conversations would help to reduce pain, based on the premise that re-membering conversations reconnect the bereaved to the life of their deceased loved one, using a narrative which allows the life, values, thoughts, and wishes of …

Fostering Transformative Points Of Connection: An Examination Of The Role Of Personal Storytelling In Two Undergraduate Social Diversity Courses, Molly Keehn

Doctoral Dissertations

People in the United States are becoming increasingly isolated and separated, and this disconnection has been amplified by the use of new technologies in which face-to-face interactions and connection are becoming an anomaly (Putnam, 2000; Turkle, 2011). These changes are paralleled by marked racial and ethnic demographic shifts and increasing racial and economic re-segregation nationwide (Passel & Cohn, 2008). A critical challenge facing higher education is fostering educational opportunities for college students to interact, connect with, and learn from diverse peers about issues of social identity, difference, and inequality, while imagining possibilities for socially-just action (Gurin, 1999; Tatum, 2007). This …

“Give Light And People Will Find A Way”: Black Women College Student Leadership Experiences With Oppression At Predominantly White Institutions, Andrea D. Domingue

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT “Give Light and People Will Find a Way”: Black Women College Student Leadership Experiences with Oppression at Predominantly White Institutions MAY 2014 ANDREA D. DOMINGUE, B.A., THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN M. A., NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Emerita Maurianne Adams Black women college students have a collective history of marginalization and discrimination within systems of higher education (Brazzell, 1996; Turner, 2008). Unlike their White women and Black men counterparts, these women have unique social location in their racial and gender identity where they experience multiple types of oppression from dominant groups …

The Relationships Among Self-Regulation, Executive Functioning, Coping Resources, And Symptomatology Following A Traumatic Event, Rebecca A.C. Blood

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Traumatic events have the capability to alter people’s psychological, biological, and social functioning to a significant degree (van der Kolk & McFarlane, 1996). As a result, there has been a growing need to develop increasingly more sophisticated models to understand the complexities of people’s responses to trauma (Luxenberg & Levin, 2004). Undergraduate students (N = 391) completed surveys designed to measure past trauma, trauma-related symptoms, self-regulation, executive functioning, and coping abilities. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, a modified version of the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report – Short Form (ETISR-SF; Bremner, Vermetten, & Masure, 2000), the Trauma Symptom Inventory – Alternate …

The Role Of College Counseling In Increasing College Access For Black Students: A Case Study Of An Effective College Counseling Program, Ricky Shabazz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this case study was to learn more about the role of the college center, the college counselor, and college peer counselors in creating a college-going culture among Black students.

Coping Resources, Coping Styles, Mastery, Social Support, And Depression In Male And Female College Students, Kristen J. Aycock

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Depression is one of the most commonly-diagnosed disorders in college counseling centers (Adams, Wharton, Quilter, & Hirsch, 2008), so effective diagnosis and treatment are paramount to providing adequate care to college students. Treatment direction may depend on gender, however. Not only do males and females experience depression at different rates (Kessler et al., 2003), but there also is some evidence that factors predict depression differently by gender (Tamres, Janicki, & Helgeson, 2002). Specifically, the literature suggests that the choice of coping strategies may be gender-related; that perceived control is higher in males, yet more important to females; that social connectedness …

Assessing The Needs Of Students Identified With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder At Minnesota State University, Mankato, Jenny A. Goff

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

A considerable number of students with a diagnosis of ADHD are represented within the Minnesota State University, Mankato student population. Research indicates that college students with an ADHD diagnosis face unique and challenging experiences in the collegiate environment. In addition to these unique stressors, research indicates that college students with ADHD may benefit from supportive services that can be offered in a University Counseling Center. A survey of the perceived needs for counseling services and utilization of counseling services among students identified with ADHD at MSU, Mankato is useful in determining current trends and informs future Counseling Center service planning.

Perceived Closeness To The Deceased And Its Predictive Effect On The Development Of Prolonged Grief Disorder And Suicidality Among Bereaved College Students, Jeffrey Alan Rings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing percentage of college students are experiencing severe and debilitating psychological problems (Caulfield, 2000; Douce, 2004; Kitzrow, 2003). Despite being a commonly-encountered stressor among undergraduates (Currier et al., 2006), the occurrence of bereavement is addressed rarely among the college mental health literature. However, bereavement has been shown to lead to increased suicidality and other problematic mental health symptoms (Prigerson, Bridge et al., 1999). Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), a newly-defined mental health diagnosis, has been found to be a more accurate indicator of poorer mental health functioning among bereaved individuals than other mental health conditions (Silverman et al., 2000). Some …

Minnesota State University Mankato Counseling Center: Needs Assessment Survey Of College Student Parents, Katherine S. Fitzkappes

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Needs Assessment Survey of Student Parents was an exploratory study of descriptive data gathered from college students who are also parents. This study surveyed a sample of student parents at Minnesota State University Mankato. Student parents were asked to complete a confidential on-line survey of questions regarding their demographic information, their psychosocial needs, and their knowledge of The Counseling Center services. Data analysis revealed that, as a group, the respondents indicated their highest psychosocial needs to be in the areas of stress management, feeling burned out and financial concerns. The lowest expressed needs were in the categories of substance …