Education Commons^™

Udl And Motivation: Student Perceptions Of The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning On Motivation Of First-Year Community College Students In Rural East Tennessee, Jennifer Mayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceptions of how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) impacts motivation in first-year community college students in rural East Tennessee. This study investigated the effects of UDL on motivation of first-year community college students in East Tennessee. This involved multiple sections of courses participating in a UDL pilot training program with the college’s Instructional Design department. Two of the courses were part of the UDL pilot, and two of the courses were teaching the Standard approved Master Curriculum. The study had a total of 109 participants, and 9 research questions were …

The Perceived Factors That Influenced African American Male Students’ Persistence At A Southeastern Community College, Phygenia Flowers Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This basic qualitative study examined the perceived factors that influenced African American male students’ persistence to acquire community college completion in the U.S. Southeast. It investigated the academic, cocurricular, and environmental intrinsic and extrinsic support systems of African American community college students who were successfully persisting toward degree obtainment. While the work highlights the challenges of these students as outlined in the published literature to frame their concerns, the study drew on Harper’s (2015) invitation to consider shifting the emphasis from Black male disadvantage to strategies that create an advantage using an antideficit framework. Harper’s (2010, 2012) antideficit achievement framework …

Exploring Appreciative Advising As An Equity Approach For African American Students: A Grounded Theory Study Of Academic Advisors At Predominantly White Institutions (Pwis), Valerie Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXPLORING APPRECIATIVE ADVISING AS AN EQUITY APPROACH FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS AT PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS (PWIs)

By

Valerie J. Harper

October 28, 2019

Dissertation supervised by Professor Gretchen Givens Generett

African American matriculation into postsecondary education continues to rise, but degree conferral remains low (Hoston, Graves, & Fleming-Randle, 2010). Arguably, Harper and Hurtado’s (2007) research, as far back as 1992, stated black students and other students of color have dealt with alienation, isolation, and stereotyping at PWIs; this continues to persist today (Lee, 2018), which may interrupt the academic success of African …

Queer Students’ Perceptions Of Inclusion At Abc Community College: A Phenomenology, Francis Canedo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of Queer students at ABC Community College. Using phenomenology as its guiding framework, transcribed interviews were analyzed in order to seek the phenomenon of the experience. Examination of the literature suggested that Queer students’ experiences of discrimination could have a negative impact on academic achievement and that inclusive and affirming spaces have the opposite effect.

Further, Queer students search for affirming spaces from their faculty and peers, and the engagement these spaces provide may be good prognosticator academic achievement. When students are provided with inclusive spaces, they may be more likely to come …

Perceptions Of Maxine Smith Fellows On Barriers That Contribute To The Underrepresentation Of African Americans In Faculty And Administrative Positions At The Tennessee Board Of Regents, Sidney R. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are underrepresented in full-time faculty and administrative positions at Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions. This study examined the perceptions of 11 Maxine Smith Fellows on the underrepresentation at TBR institutions and provides recommendations that could assist in increasing representation of African Americans in full-time faculty and administrative positions.

A qualitative method was used for the study. Each participant was required to participate in a recorded SKYPE interview. The researcher transcribed the interviews and analyzed the data using coding to derive overarching themes that provided findings based upon the research questions.

Based upon the analysis of data, the …

Programs For Language Minority Students At Tbr Community Colleges: A Study Of Factors Affecting Design, Caitlin Chapman-Rambo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to determine to what extent programs for language-minority students at TBR community colleges adhere to the recommendations contained in the Conference on College Composition and Communications 2009 Statement on Second Language Writing and Writers and to investigate the factors beyond these professional recommendations that influence administrative decision-making about these programs and their designs. This study contained a survey sent to individuals at all 13 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents system and follow-up interviews with 5 survey respondents from different institutions.

Analysis of the results of the study indicates all TBR community …

Community College Grow Your Own Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Employee Perceptions Of Individual And Organizational Leadership Development, John Delozier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges often face challenges with leadership as a result of retirements and turnover. In reaction to these challenges some community colleges have developed Grow Your Own (GYO) leadership development programs. Although the topic of leadership and leadership development has been researched extensively, more research is necessary concerning GYO programs and their perceived impact on participants and their colleges. This study was designed to determine the perceived development of GYO participants as well as the perception of a GYO’s impact on the organization. Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in Greensboro, North Carolina has had a GYO program for 30 years. …

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …

Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more students evaluate their choice for higher education, the rate of transfer students continues to grow. The transfer population is often addressed broadly in research studies, and few examine differences among the population. This study was designed to analyze the differences in transfer shock and retention rates between students who transferred from a community college to a four-year institution (vertical) versus those who transferred from one four-year institution to another (lateral). Participants of this study consisted of 1,032 students who transferred to the University of Louisville during the fall 2014, 2015, and 2016 semesters. Results indicated, when controlling for …

Letting The Village Be The Teacher: A Critical Ethnographic Case Study Of Community-Based Learning In Northern Thailand, Lauren Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores how three communities in rural Thailand are building global education program provision infrastructure as they respond to the desires of U.S. study abroad programs to place students in homestay experiences. The three communities profiled in this study are each seeking alternate paths that allow engagement with outsider visitors while minimizing unwanted impacts. Through my research, I challenge the hidden narrative in U.S. higher education practice and discourse that a study abroad destination's main value is as a site for the benefit of U.S. higher education students; a site where they can accrue cultural, social, and political capital. …

A Theological Analysis Of Confessional-Centric Curriculum Of Christian Religious Education: Towards An Inclusive Religious Pluralistic Centered Curriculum For Nigeria Colleges Of Education, Ilesanmi Ajibola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Desire to live in peace and unity despite the multi ethnic and multi religious composition of Nigeria, remain ideals that are constant in the nation’s Constitution. However, accruable benefits of a culturally and religiously pluralistic society have continued to elude Nigeria due to incessant religious violence arising from the mutual suspicion of Christians and Muslims in the country. Nevertheless, the nation’s National Policy on Education proposes the education sector as one of the platforms to inculcate a sense of unity and religious tolerance in the country. The policy considers the nation’s learning centers and religious courses offered in such institutions …

Muslim International Student And Higher Education: A Qualitative Study Of Students' Experiences Against A Backdrop Of Islamophobia, Donna M. Seppy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

International student enrollment at institutions of higher education in the United States continues to rise. Despite political and social tensions, students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nations continue to enroll in record numbers, yet there is minimal literature focused on the experiences of this sub-group of international students.

This qualitative study sought to understand the lived-experiences and perceived needs of Muslim International students from Middle East and North Africa nations enrolled in an institution of higher education in the northeast United States. This study employed a phenomenological approach to discovery aimed to develop new understandings of their …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Racialized Experiences Of Southeast Asian American Community College Students, Varaxy Yi Borromeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Southeast Asian American (SEAA) (e.g., Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese) students' educational realities are often masked by assumptions that all Asian Americans are model minorities. However, SEAA students have also been racialized as deviant minorities to explain disparities faced by the community. Relatively minimal scholarship has explored how race and racism shape their experiences. In this study, AsianCrit provides a framework for exploring the racial realities of SEAA students in community college. Qualitative research methods were employed to explore in-depth the ways they experience race and racialization. Specifically, this study is a phenomenological exploration of their lived racialized experiences and …

Institutional Conditions That Matter To Community College Students' Success: A Multiple-Case Study, Crystal L. Edenfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative and explanatory study utilized a multiple-case study to better understand the impact of institutional conditions that contributed to continuing students’ success at Georgia Highlands College (GHC) in terms of identifying and making progress toward or achieving educational goals from the student perspective. The researcher compared two locations at GHC in northwest Georgia, a nonresidential, limited-access state college within the University System of Georgia. This study was intended to ascertain students’ perspectives regarding what they need from institutions to succeed. The researcher examined the roles of campus environment and institutional agents (faculty, staff, and administrators) to …

Women In Recovery: Perceptions In Transition To Community College, Mandi Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substance abuse is an area of concern for college administrators, and they have implemented campus programming in an attempt to address it. Additionally, prior researchers have studied substance abuse on college campuses in order to better understand how substance abuse affects student success. However, limited research exist that addresses the unique perspective of college students who are in recovery from substance abuse, and most studies were conducted in 4-year institutions rather than community colleges. This qualitative case study explored the transition experiences of female students in recovery who attend community college or have recently graduated. The sample included students from …

Native And Community College Transfer Students In Biological Sciences At A Four-Year Institution: A Comparative Study, Nathanial Weber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between native and community college transfer students and identify factors that predicted upper-level biology course grade-point average and final overall grade-point average at a four-year institution in biological sciences. The results of this study indicated four-year institution persistence was not significantly related to gender, high school grade-point average, or ACT composite score. Persistence was significantly related to transfer status; whether the student was a native or community college transfer student with native students persisting at a higher rate at the four-year institution than community college transfer students. Furthermore, ACT composite score, …

Discourses Of Developmental English Education: Reframing Policy Debates, Aaron R. Tolbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the National Educational Longitudinal Study, an estimated 28% of academically underprepared students who take developmental courses (preparatory, not credit-bearing) graduate within 8.5 years (Attewell, Lavin, Domina, & Levey, 2006), far below the national average graduation rate of near 60% of students for all postsecondary institutions (USDE, 2016). Given these statistics, some conclude that developmental education itself contributes to the low graduation rate of developmental students (Bailey, Jaggars, & Jenkins, 2015). Indeed, the causes of this attainment gap are the focus of vigorous debates by scholars from numerous disciplines, defining whether the problems exist within the organizational structure and …

Communication Apprehension Among Community College Students: A Phenomenology, John R. Bragg Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of communication apprehension among a purposeful sample of five community college students with high levels of communication apprehension. The phenomenon of Communication Apprehension (CA) is “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Beatty, McCroskey, & Heisel, 1998, p. 197; McCroskey, 1970, p. 269). All individuals experience some level of CA, and between 30% and 40% of individuals are estimated to experience high levels of CA. For the community college student with high levels of CA, the introductory communication course …

Community College Honors Education And Student Outcomes: A Propensity Score Analysis, Jane B. Honeycutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of honors education to student success by comparing honors-eligible community college students who met requirements to academically matched peers who opted out of honors participation. Honors program participation was defined as completing 12 or more credit hours of honors-level course work. The population for this study included 452 honors-eligible participants with 95 honors participants (HPs) and 357 non-participants (NPs) from a community college in Tennessee. The sampling frame was generated using a five-year participation window from 2008 through 2013. Propensity score matching alleviated the threat to validity for self-selection bias …

An Investigation Of State College To University Transfer Students' Sense Of Belonging, Claire Brady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the sense of belonging of state college transfer students who enroll at a large research-intensive university through structured and unstructured transfer pathways using the Sense of Belonging Instrument (SBI; Hoffman, Richmond, Morrow, & Solomon, 2002). The SBI includes five subscales (Peer Support, Faculty Support, Classroom Comfort, Isolation, and Empathetic Faculty Understanding). To date, no systematic investigation has considered the construct of belonging with this population or transfer pathway. The findings from this study (n = 54) found a positive statistically significant correlation between Peer Support and Isolation (r(52) =.801, p …

Faculty Perspectives And Participation In Implementing An Early Alert System And Intervention In A Community College, Claudine Bentham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early alert systems have been recognized as a high impact practice designed to improve student engagement and student success. Early alert is designed to identify students with at-risk behaviors early in the semester before they decide to drop-out, withdraw, or fail their classes, using resources such as a predictive analysis tool or advising. For an early alert to be successful and efficient, faculty should be included in the process of early alert. This qualitative study examined faculty's perspective and experiences when implementing early alert strategies and intervention in a two-year institution. Using Cranton's seven facets of transformative learning as a …

Speaking Out Despite White Noise: Examining The Leadership Of African American Female Technical College Presidents And Vice Presidents, Ashley Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore the experiences of African American female leaders in higher education. More specifically, this study examined the experiences of these leaders who assume the role of presidents and vice presidents at Georgia technical colleges. The study contextualized the experiences of these leaders and illustrated how those experiences influence their leadership methods and the establishment of their leadership presence. The results of this study form a context for understanding the leadership methods of African American female leaders.

Cultural Influences Of Resource Dependence: Community College Administrator Perceptions Of Implementing Initiatives Related To Tennessee’S Performance Funding Model, John Owen Driskill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the cultural influences of resource dependence for community college administrators responsible for the implementation of initiatives related to Tennessee’s new performance funding program. Tennessee’s funding formula, considered one of the most aggressive and robust in the country, is among a second generation of performance funding programs commonly referred to as performance funding 2.0. Cultural influences of resource dependence were defined as values, beliefs, and customs that influence administrator efforts to improve institutional outcomes and acquire additional resources through performance funding.

A top performing community college in terms of the performance …

A Comparative Study Of Instructor Status On Student Success And Retention At Motlow State Community College, Cheryl Hyland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics projects total enrollment in post secondary degree-granting institutions to increase 15% from 2010 to 2021 (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). National and state education efforts such as President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative, Tennessee’s Drive to 55, and Tennessee Promise encourage Americans to expand their educational pursuits in order to increase the number of individuals completing a post secondary degree. As states adopt funding formula measures tied directly to student success and retention, higher education institutions increasingly must rely on the effectiveness of academic and student service programs. Although the employment of adjunct …

An Exploration Of The Impostor Phenomenon And Its Impact On Black Women Administrators In Higher Education In The South, Marian Muldrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies document Black student and faculty underrepresentation in higher education and the obstacles blocking their access to the classroom either as students or as instructors. As Black women students work toward graduate degrees, Black women administrators are needed so these students can see their identity reflected in their academic leaders.

As a result, this study focused on the particular challenges that limit upward mobility to senior-level administrative positions and highlighted some of the obstacles and conflicts that arise when Black women pursue leadership positions at institutions of higher education. The highlighted historical events related to education, as well as …

Comparison Of Student Success By Course Delivery Methods At An Eastern Tennessee Community College, E. Ann Cunningham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare academic success based on methods of course delivery for students in a computer applications course at an East Tennessee community college. Additionally, the researcher examined demographic relationships of age, gender, and race to student academic performance in the different delivery methods. The researcher used final course grades as a determinant of academic success. The study was focused on students who took the INFS 1010 Computer Applications course during the academic years, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 at a southeast Tennessee community college. The population consisted of 1,177 students who took the INFS 1010 …

Stress Levels In Tenure-Track And Recently Tenured Faculty Members In Selected Institutions Of Higher Education In Northeast Tennessee, Amanda R. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the stress, strain, and coping levels between pretenured faculty and recently tenured faculty in institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee. Aging faculty population combined with talented people leaving the area is common in rural parts of the United States. There is a need to better understand the occupational factors within the faculty roles in order to better recruit and retain faculty in this region.

Four different institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee, producing 92 responses, participated in this study. The Occupational Stress Inventory – Revised (Osipow, 1998) was used …

Transformational Leadership And A Culture Of Efficacy: A Search For Correlation In The Alabama Two-Year College System, Johnny H. Mcmoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project explores the predominant leadership characteristics among community college presidents as measured by Bass and Avolio’s transformational leadership continuum, the degree of collective teacher efficacy among faculty, and any correlation that exists between them. The populations studied are the presidents and faculty of community colleges in Alabama. Two instruments were employed, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) developed by Bass and Avolio (1995) and Goddard’s CE-SCALE (2000, 2002), as a measure of collective teacher efficacy.

The researcher found evidence of mid-range collective efficacy scores among faculty and strong evidence of pervasive transformational leadership characteristics among college presidents. The researcher …

From Frat To Fraternity: An Evolutionary Model For 21st Century Greek-Letter Organizations, Matthew Charles Brinton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fraternities and sororities have been fixtures of American collegiate campuses since the founding of Phi Beta Kappa in 1776. Since that time the wants, needs, aspirations and desires of the college student has continually evolved. In an effort to keep up with the evolution of the student, Greek-letter organizations (GLOs) have needed to find ways of evolving as well. As we jump head-first into the 21st century and beyond these great bastions of the collegiate experience are again in need of a face-lift to meet the needs of the latest generation of students. Now, more than ever, it is time …

Success Of First-Time Students In Associate Degree Programs At The University Of Maine At Augusta, Emily Mae Johnston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the new admissions model implemented by the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) in spring 2001 improved the academic success of first-time students. In this study first-time associate degree seeking students at the Augusta campus of UMA were examined to assess the academic success for each of the 5 student cohorts (fall 1999 - fall 2003). Each cohort was segmented to separately identify those needing (1) adult education level remediation, (2) developmental remediation and (3) those not requiring remedial course work. The academic success of each group was measured by retention …