Education Commons^™

Opting Out: Non-Participation In An Educational Assistance Program, Mary Elizabeth Lucal

Doctoral Dissertations

Educational assistance programs have existed in the United States since as early as 1952. These programs, in which employers pay for employees to complete post-secondary coursework, are popular among employers as recruitment and retention tools (Babcock, 2009; Buddin & Kapur, 2002; Cappelli, 2004; Manchester, 2008; Meisler, 2004; SHRM, 2009). They are viewed by employees as a means to accomplish personal goals (Jacobs, Skillings, & Yu, 2001). Yet, at last count, only 8% to 9% of eligible employees participated in classes through educational assistance (General Accounting Office, 1996). Little is known about why employees choose not to participate in educational assistance …

The Relationship Between Self-Directed Learning And Information Literacy Among Adult Learners In Higher Education, Tiffani Reneau Conner

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-directed learning and information literacy. Participants completed the Personal Orientation in Self-Directed Learning Scale ([PRO-SDLS], Stockdale, 2003) and the Information Literacy Test ([ILT], James Madison University, 2003). The PRO-SDLS is a self-report scale consisting of 25 statements about self-directed learning preferences in college classrooms. The ILT is a 60-item multiple-choice test that assesses the information literacy skills of college students. Correlation, ANOVA, and multiple regressions were used to test relationships and differences between self-directed learning and information literacy. Despite claims that teaching information literacy creates self-directed learners, composite scores …

Being A (Good) Student: Conceptions Of Identity Of Adult Basic Education Participants Transitioning To College, Mina Reddy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the perceptions of identity of a category of students that has rarely been studied in the context of higher education. These are adults who have participated in GED preparation or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. A college education is increasingly necessary for individual economic success and a higher quality of life, and a college-educated workforce is a major element in national economic competitiveness. Rates of college enrollment and persistence of ABE students, however, are low. The study seeks to determine how ABE students and graduates conceive of their …

Road Scholar Service-Learning Corps: Reflection And Reciprocity In Rajasthan, India, Lezlie R. Weber

Capstone Collection

Road Scholar (RS) is the name for the programs developed and offered by Elderhostel, Inc., the not-for-profit leader in lifelong learning since 1975. RS inspires adults to learn, discover and travel (Road Scholar, 2012). Currently, RS is in the process of launching five new service-learning programs over the next two years. Road Scholar runs five different programs yearly to India; of the current programs offered there is no service-learning component throughout any of the programs. The specific location in India was chosen due to the need for an additional English teacher at the public school. There are a growing number …

Perceptions Of College Readiness And Social Capital Of Ged Completers In Entry-Level College Courses, Donalyn L. Lott

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Examining the efficacy of literacy improvement, general education development (GED) completion, and GED completers’ perceptions of college readiness and social capital was the purpose of this study. The participant sample (n=321), derived from the target population (N=1050), consisted of former participants of Adult Literacy Education (ALE)/GED programs in the Greater New Orleans area (GNO), who have earned the GED credential, and, are currently enrolled in entry-level courses at two community colleges in Southeast Louisiana; specifically, in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes. The study was framed by the social capital theoretical perspective.

The study used quantitative methodology, with …

A Description Of Nonprofit Executive Leaders' Perceptions Of Human Resource Capacity Building Within Their Organizations, Synetra Danielle Gilmer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have predicted that within the next 5 to 15 years the nonprofit sector will undergo a dramatic loss in leadership due to baby boomers entering retirement, job transitions, and underdeveloped talent within nonprofit organizations. Effective leaders are critical in keeping these organizations running so that they can serve and provide much needed services, thus investing in their organizations is the key to keeping NPOs relevant in the future. Investing in training and development, intellectual capital, and succession planning are just a few of the human resource capacity building efforts that have been credited for helping to alleviate some of …

A Holy Curiosity: Transformative Self-Directed Learning To Breakthrough New Knowledge In The Case Of Einstein, Deanna Lynn Vogt

Dissertations

The case of Einstein’s discovery of the relativity theory, explored with grounded theory methodology, illustrates a type of self-directed learning characterized by personal and non-personal, or technical, transformative learning, the result of which is iconic original, breakthrough learning. This dissertation explores three aspects of adult learning which are novel in adult education.

First, this study of breakthrough process, for which there is only one apparent precedent in adult education, considers how an individual goes about a self-directed learning project that revolutionizes a field. In this regard, the concept of original learning, as opposed to transmitted learning, presents itself as a …

Tripping With Stephen Gaskin: An Exploration Of A Hippy Adult Educator, Gabriel Patrick Morley

Dissertations

For the last 40 years, Stephen Gaskin has been an adult educator on the fringe, working with tens of thousands of adults in the counterculture movement in pursuit of social change regarding marijuana legalization, women’s rights, environmental justice issues and beyond. Gaskin has written 11 books about his experiences teaching and learning with adults outside the mainstream, yet, he is virtually unknown in the field of adult education. He lists his religion as hippy; he is a member of the Counterculture Hall of Fame (inducted 2004), a convicted felon, a United States Marine, a Korean War combat veteran, and a …

The Invisible Woman And The Silent University, Elizabeth Robinson Cole

Dissertations

Anna Eliot Ticknor (1823 – 1896) founded the first correspondence school in the United States, the Society to Encourage Studies at Home. In the fall of 1873 an educational movement was quietly initiated from her home in Boston, Massachusetts. A politically and socially sophisticated leader, she recognized the need that women felt for continuing education and understood how to offer the opportunity within the parameters afforded women of nineteenth century America. With a carefully chosen group of women and one man, Ticknor built a learning society that extended advanced educational opportunities to all women regardless of financial ability, educational background, …

Parent Perceptions Of The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, Charity C. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand both contributors and barriers to use of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (SB10). Although SB10 was designed to offer parental choice of schools for students with disabilities, it has diminished the capacity of parents to access due process granted through IDEA. Perspectives in this study were provided by parents who chose to rescind their child's participation in the voucher program and parents who continued to access the voucher. Analysis of the lived experiences of parents of students with disabilities in Georgia revealed both similar and diverse experiences, perceptions and concerns …

Factors Associated With Adult Literacy Student Outcomes In Campus-Based Versus Community-Based Programs, Charles Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) formally trains over 100,000 adult literacy students each year free of charge at a variety of campus-based and community-based programs located at community centers, churches, libraries, or businesses. A common, yet unproven, assumption among senior administrators and adult literacy faculty members at TCSG colleges is that adults who attend literacy classes embedded in the traditional college campus environment have better academic outcomes than those who attend only community-based programs. However, a gap currently exists in the literature with respect to a clear understanding of which student outcome variables are impacted when …

Institutional Factors That Pertain To Commuter Student Success, Heather Adams Kenney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what institutional factors affect retention and student success at a Florida public, 4-year university for commuter students. This study included institutional factors controlled by the university that affect retention with students who commute to the institution. Commuter students compose over 80% of enrollment at the nation’s college and university campuses. This mixed-method study included both a survey and focus groups. In the first part of the study, quantitative data were collected, using the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI). The survey analysis of the data collected using the SSI indicated that the scores …