Education Commons^™

Beyond Compliance: Critical Perspectives In Supporting Institutionally Underserved Survivors Of Sexual Violence, William A. Martinez

Masters Theses

Interpersonal and sexual violence on college campuses is rampant. While federal legislation exists to support survivors of interpersonal violence in higher education via the Violence Against Women Act, Title IX, and Clery Act, support specifically for institutionally underserved survivors of interpersonal violence (IUS) tends to be limited in nature. Because of this deficit, institutionally underserved students and survivors of interpersonal violence are often left unsupported by interpersonal violence prevention staff members (IVPSM). Through semi-structured interviews, this critical multisite case study collected information on the perceptions of IVPSM on IUS support and resources, identified gaps in education on how to respond …

“Effortful”: Narratives Of Women Working In Higher Education During Covid-19, Miranda N. Rutan

Masters Theses

The novel coronavirus, Covid-19, brought unknown consequences (e.g., short- and long-term health effects, mortality rate, and infection rates) to the United States in 2020. With the physical spaces of businesses shutting down and reliance on virtual and remote spaces, implications of the virus’ effects encompassed multiple areas such as health, wellbeing, and finances. Caregivers, predominantly occupied by women, balanced increases to both paid and unpaid labor. This narrative inquiry collected the experiences of four women working in higher education during the pandemic. These narratives were collected to explore the effects of added responsibilities on women through an ethics of care …

Perceptions And Expectations Of College Students Choosing To Become Peer Mentors, Matthew Hicks

Masters Theses

Peer mentoring programs are a popular means of supporting students in transition in higher education. The success of these programs is based on the students who decide to become peer mentors. Further, institutions often have a variety of peer mentoring programs on their campuses that create varying experiences. The intent on this study was to identify best practices for recruiting peer mentors. The study utilized a quantitative instrument designed to reflect what previous literature suggested had been the positive outcomes of peer mentoring. A total of 110 student leaders at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville participated in the study, representing …

Perceptions Of Peer Mentorship Within Living Learning Communities: A Case Study, Nicole Marie Nicholson

Masters Theses

Living-learning communities (LLC) are seen as a way to help promote student engagement and retention using best practices in higher education (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, 2014). Resident Assistants (RA), also known as resident advisors, and LLC peer mentors are members of a residential community in college who are employed to help provide a sense of community among residents on their floor or in their building (Rieske & Benjamin, 2015). Previous research (Wyile, 2012) on LLC peer mentor interactions provided examples of how peer mentors could enhance a community within a college LLC. This qualitative study …

Fostering Global Leaders: A Case Study Of The Korea Foundation For The Next Generation Sports Talent And Its Partnership With The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Benjamin Hisung Nam

Masters Theses

The Korea Foundation for the Next Generation Sports Talent (NEST) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville have been collaborating to foster global sports talent through academic cooperation and have been interacting to reeducate retired South Korean elite athletes since December, 2008. The purpose of the partnership is to create mutual international understandings between the two parties. This study explores the intended/initial goals of the partnership and whether these goals have changed (if so how and why) or remained the same. If the goals have remained the same, has anything changed? Results indicate that fostering global leadership skills, English language training, …

Student Perceptions Of Institutional Crisis Management, Preparedness, And Response: The Case Of The Active Shooter, Jared Allen Grimsley

Masters Theses

Institutional crisis management is becoming more relevant with every passing tragedy and crisis event. This study utilized a modified existing survey to collect quantitative data from students attending a large four-year public research institution located in the Southeastern region of the United States. A stratified random sample of commuter students and non-commuter students was analyzed to compare statistical similarities and differences between the groups. The largest group of student respondents were full-time, freshmen, female, involved, and currently live on campus. Students perceived their institutions to be moderately prepared to respond to both general crises and active shooting situations, although a …

Adult Attachment, Emotional Intelligence, And Resilience As Correlates Of Social Engagement, Academic Engagement, And Confidence Of Persistence In College Students, Yacob Tewolde Tekie

Masters Theses

The current study investigated freshmen university students (N = 210) to examine the role of attachment style (anxiety, avoidance), emotional intelligence (repair, attention, clarity) and resilience in predicting student adaptation to college (academic, social, personal and academic engagement). Four multiple regression analyses were conducted for each subscale of adaptation to college. The results indicated that; a) emotional intelligence (attention, clarity) and resilience significantly predicted student academic adjustment; b) emotional inelligence (repair) predicted student social adjustment; c) emotional inteligence (clarity), resilience, and adult attachment (anxiety) significantly predicted student personal adjustment; and d) emotional intelligence (repair, clarity) and resilience, significantly predicted …

Three Justifications For Support Of Female Student Affairs Professionals, Anna Filipek Adams

Masters Theses

Female student affairs professionals have experienced much advancement in the field. Yet we still suffer gender discrimination in our career paths, salaries, and work experiences. Unfortunately, this issue is not seen as important by decision makers, due to the acceptance of slow change, the past reluctances to begin this discussion, and the arguments of critics. In order to reinvigorate our growth and advancement in the field, I argue that there is value in supporting female student affairs professionals.

I justify the value of supporting of female student affairs professionals from student affairs, human resources, and cultural studies perspectives. From a …

A Comparative Investigation Of Environment Perceptions Of Clustered And Non-Clustered Freshmen Students, Elizabeth A. Pearson

Masters Theses

This study was directed to determine if, in fact, clustering actually does influence the students' perceptions of the large university environment. This study examined the environment perceptions of clustered Presidential Living Center freshmen students as compared with non-clustered freshmen students living in Hess and Massey residence halls. All of these students are located on the Knoxville campus of The University of Tennessee. This difference in perceptions was measured by the administration of the College and University Environment Scales which was published by Pace in 1963 and is designed to measure college environments. This scale measures groups in the areas of …