Education Commons^™

Green Student Centers' Influence On The Campus Environment, Krista L. Harrell

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Green building and design is an emerging trend in institutions of higher education. It is important to consider the practices and expectations of the users of green buildings. The attitudes of faculty, staff, and students play a key role in the overall successful performance of green buildings. This study offers direction for the intentional design and use of green student centers as influential facets of the total environment on college campuses. The research presents cases of how green student center design may be connected to environmental attitudes. This qualitative study examined to what degree three green student centers influence and …

The Socialization Of Bullying Through Community College Nursing Education: A Multiple Case Study, Margaret M. O'Conner Machon

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Many recent studies propose that bullying in the workplace is prevalent and is a phenomenon which occurs in the nursing workplace as well as in nursing education. This qualitative study examined the effects of vertical bullying upon community college nursing students and graduates, and the effect of this behavior upon the socialization of those learning the nursing profession. The study is based on a theoretical framework based on the findings of Salin (2003) and Twale and De Luca (2008) adapting their theory of bullying in academia which incorporated enabling, motivating and precipitating factors leading to intensified bullying. The study investigated …

Overcoming Barriers: How Community College Faculty Successfully Overcome Barriers To Participation In Distance Education, Matthew Meyer

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

To determine the primary barriers encountered by community college faculty in participating in distance education, community college faculty and administrators from community colleges in North Carolina and Virginia were surveyed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Two separate online surveys were provided to faculty and distance education administrators (including chief academic officers) that included demographic questions and barrier assessment questions for both groups. Follow-up interviews were conducted among faculty and administrators at colleges that self-reported having successful or poorly performing distance education programs. To further frame the attributes of faculty participators and non-participators in distance education, the diffusion of innovations …

The Impact Of Service-Learning On General Education Outcomes At A Community College In Virginia, Sonya Lisette Landas

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Service-learning is an instructional method designed to cultivate interaction between students and their communities in order to improve the learning process. Although there is a wealth of information available pertaining to the development and implementation of service-learning in higher education, evidence supporting the impact of service-learning on general education outcomes at a community college is minimal. The current study investigated the impact of service-learning on two general education outcomes at a local community college: critical thinking and personal growth (measured by two subtasks on the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Assessment). The researcher used an Analysis of Variance with repeated …

The Influence Of Enrollment Management Transition Strategies On College Student Success, Lisa Duncan Raines

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Enrollment management practices clearly influence college student success. Retention and graduation rates are critical measures for institutions of higher education, particularly measures involving increased first-year retention rates, four-year graduation rates, and six-year graduation rates. Improving student success is paramount concern for college and university leaders. This concern has yielded a body of literature addressing the role of enrollment management in higher education as well as the development of various college student success programs. Specifically within the overarching concept of enrollment management are transition strategies which influence college student success.

The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of …

Adult Learner Graduation Rates At Four U.S. Community Colleges By Prior Learning Assessment Status And Method, Milan S. Hayward

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The college completion agenda demands improved graduation rates among adult learners and prior learning assessment (PLA) is a promising solution. PLA permits students to earn college credit for knowledge acquired outside of higher education and is associated with improved student outcomes. The current study expanded the literature regarding adult PLA learners in the community college by examining the graduation rates of adult learners in four U.S. community colleges by PLA status and method. Results confirmed significant difference in graduation rates between adult PLA learners and adult non-PLA learners, uncovered significant difference in the graduation rates of adult PLA learners by …

The Use Of Non-Cognitives And Learning Strategies As A Predictor For Completion Of Developmental Mathematics At A Community College, Megan Healy

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

With a large global, national, state, and local drive for post-secondary credentials, higher education institutes are exploring new retention and graduation strategies to meet the needs of the employers and employees. Many students who are unprepared for college level work will enter a community college to take developmental courses. Developmental mathematics has been a large barrier to completion and success in community college.

The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of non-cognitive traits to predict persistence in completion of a developmental math sequence at a community college. Non-cognitive traits were identified from the three components of strategic …

Gender Performativity In The Community College: A Case Study Of Female Backline Classified Staff, Samantha Rose Powers

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This case study explored the gendered performances of five female backline classified staff members who work in non-traditional fields within a community college. More specifically, this study defined gendered behaviors at a community college, and explored how these behaviors have affected the identities of women working in non-traditional fields at the community college. This study indicated through documents, observations, and interviews that there was mixed evidence of the degree to which gendered behavior is cultivated at a community college in Washington. Document review, interview, and observation findings showed that women at the community college reported expectations of gendered behavior, gender …

From Homeschool To The Community College: A Multiple Case Study, Benjamin G. Kramer

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The number of U.S. homeschooled students has steadily risen from the 1980's to the present, and many eventually choose to attend community colleges (Cogan, 2010; Mason, 2004; Ray, 2004a; Sorey & Duggan, 2008a). Homeschoolers who make community colleges their first structured educational setting outside the home do so for various reasons: (a) to obtain skills to prepare for a chosen career path or educational goal; (b) for economic reasons; and (c) to stay close to home (Ray, 2004b; Sorey & Duggan, 2008a). Presently, limited research explores the homeschooled population's transition during the first year of college experience. Community colleges are …

General Education Requirements In A Community College Baccalaureate Rn-To-Bsn Program, Jason Bentley Krupp

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Increasing demand for nurses with bachelor degrees, the growing culture of accountability in higher education, and the community college baccalaureate phenomena provided the impetus for this study. This ex-post facto quantitative study examined the graduation rates and time to degree of 240 students who were enrolled in a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program at a community college in Florida between Fall of 2002 and Spring of 2004. The general education course enrollment patterns of the students were analyzed to determine if they impacted student graduation rates and time to degree. Graduation rates and time to degree of students …

An Investigation Into Building Level Leadership That Promotes Professional Learning Communities, James Michael Pohl

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The extent to which principals in suburban elementary and secondary schools lead schools to be ready to transform into professional learning committees was investigated. Data were collected through the use of the Professional Learning Communities Assessment – Revised (PLCA-R) questionnaire administered to principals, assistant principals and lead teachers as identified by their principals. Findings from the PLCA-R determined a ranked order for the 45 schools that completed the questionnaire. Following the questionnaire, one-on-one face-to-face interviews were conducted with the six principals from the three highest ranked elementary schools and the three highest ranked secondary schools. Six lead teachers, one from …

The Experiences Of Women In A U.S. Department Of Education School Leadership Preparation Cohort Program: A Case Study, Darra Katrina Belle

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study allows the voices of nine educational practitioners participating in a school leadership preparation cohort to be heard. The main unit of analysis was a closed cohort within a university's educational leadership program conducted in partnership with a local school district.

The purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences of women currently and previously enrolled in a school leadership preparation cohort program. This study was conducted with the intent that experiences of the participants will provide insight for other women who aspire to leadership positions who are enrolled in school leadership principal preparation cohorts. The goal …

An Examination Of Alcohol Expectations And Social Desirability In Fraternity Members On American College Campuses, Pietro A. Sasso

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Males who are members of American college fraternal organizations remain one of the heaviest drinking populations among college students (Wall, 2006). Within fraternities, alcohol use is ceded to social status (Larimer et al., 1997). This culturally ingrained alcohol misuse has confounded interventions and programming to address this phenomenon and response to these attempts have been low or nonexistent by fraternity members. This study investigated alcohol expectations and social desirability among fraternity members. It was hypothesized that as members enter and remain in the fraternity culture, distorted expectations and socially desirable behaviors may occur as demonstrated by differences between pledges and …

The Impact Of State Fiscal Effort On Student Achievement Measured By Math Scores From The National Assessment Of Education Progress (Naep), Lorena Leeann Kelly

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The current financial state of our nation, in combination with the pressure to meet state accountability testing and a global call for better prepared twenty first century learners, has produced a situation where all levels of government have to make difficult decisions regarding expenditures. In order to ensure that education receives appropriate funding, research is necessary to show a relationship between spending and student achievement. This study examines the effects of sustained increases and decreases in state fiscal effort on student achievement measured by scores from 4th and 8th grade math NAEP scores over an eighteen year period. A quantitative …

The Relationship Between State Fiscal Effort And State Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Melissa Christine Morris

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In recent decades, the United States has been criticized for failing to produce citizens who can compete in a global society. Legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, has been implemented with the intention of improving the U.S. education system. Under the guidelines of NCLB, states are tasked with meeting Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) objectives in order to receive federal monies. In addition to testing requirements, one AYP indicator used to measure academic proficiency for high school students is graduation rates. The fiscal and societal impact of students not graduating from high school can be …

The Impact Of Teacher Licensure Programs On Minority Student Achievement, Rose S. Duke

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This research examined the impact of teacher licensure routes, particularly those identified as either traditional or alternative on student achievement by comparing Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) end of year scores in math and reading for minority students in grades six through eight during the period from 2005 through 2009. To compare the achievement of students taught by either traditionally or alternatively prepared teachers, the Standards of Learning (SOL) scores were calculated for students and then aggregated for types of teacher preparation. The mean values were compared for statistically significant differences as a function of subject, teacher ethnicity, teacher gender, …

Transition From High School To Associate Degree Nursing Education: A Qualitative Study, Kathy Jessee Mitchell

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Nursing is facing a critical shortage and retention of nursing students is of paramount importance. Much research has been completed related to retention in nursing education and student success, but there is very little in current literature related to issues associated with the transition from high school to associate degree nursing (ADN) education. The purpose of this study was to explore this phenomenon through qualitative research involving ADN students who entered the nursing programs immediately after graduation from high school. This qualitative study involved students from a rural associate degree program. The intent was to provide a better understanding of …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Women In Leadership And Community At Old Dominion University From 1970 To 1990, Ann E. Wendle Barnes

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

During the 1970s college campuses in the United States were often the venue through which change occurred. Female faculty and students were assertive in their efforts to influence equality between men and women across the country (Morris, 1984). This historical phenomenological study examined the oral history of several women who advocated for women's rights at Old Dominion University (ODU) by establishing the Women's Caucus, Women's Studies Program, and Women's Center during the late 1970s through the 1990s.

Participants selected for this study took part in semi-structured interviews, and the results of the interviews were triangulated with archived documents available at …