Education Commons^™

Feel The Burn(Out) And (Mom)Guilt Of Doctorate Programs Amongst Latina Mothers: A Testiomonio Reflection, Judyann Armijo

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. This research aims to explore the experiences of Latina mothers residing in San Antonio, Texas, using testimonios as a form of data collection; asynchronous interviews were completed to obtain the participants' experiences as they journeyed through their respective doctoral programs. Through this qualitative study, the research provided an in-depth analysis to understand the relationship between motherhood, academia, and culture in relation to advanced degrees. In this study, LatCrit served as the leading theoretical framework, allowing the researcher to understand the obstacles the participants underwent not only as doctoral students but also as the other critical roles in …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

Global Engagement Model For Land-Grant Universities, A Grounded Theory., Lorena Ivonne Ballester

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this study is to examine how land-grant universities engage with the public in the era of globalization; to explain the institutionalization of engagement processes accounting for the global context; and, to integrate this analysis into a Global Engagement Model for Land-Grant Universities (GEM) implementing a grounded theory research methodology.

GEM’s foundation is both theoretical and empirical. Applying the intensity sampling method, the universities selected for the empirical base were: The University of California, Davis, Michigan State University, and The Pennsylvania State University. Rather than an exact representation of individual universities’ engagement models, the model is the researcher’s …

Cultural And Gender Shifts: Trends And Factors Hmong Male Students Face In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Sai Yang Xiong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The educational trends in the attainment of Hmong American students in higher education have grown significantly over the past 40+ years. However, modern academia is still somewhat new to most United States Hmong refugees since their resettlement in 1975 after the Vietnam War. Hmong students are children of refugee immigrants who came to the United States with no formal schooling, limited English proficiency, and a low-socioeconomic background. Hmong parents believe that having an education will enable their children to seek employment, perform well in society, and gain financial stability. The purpose of this study was to analyze challenges that contribute …

Juntos Luchamos: A Postcritical Ethnographic And Photovoice Study On Latinx Student Civic Engagement Practices At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Liliana Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Situated at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), this postcritical ethnographic and photovoice study sought to explore how Latinx students define and practice civic engagement. Theoretically framed by Latino Cultural Citizenship (LCC), the study explored how current Latinx student civic engagement practices inform a Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ civic engagement efforts. Data collection took place over the 2021-2022 academic year and an exhibition of the study’s findings was made publicly available at the culmination of the study. Findings from the study indicate that Latinx postsecondary students define civic engagement as knowledge and resource sharing (KRS) and achieving success. Findings for how Latinx postsecondary students …

Exitosas On Their Own Terms: Centering Latina Testimonios To Understand Latina Undergraduates’ Student Success Beliefs, Lauren R. Contreras

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing testimonio methodology grounded in LatCrit and Chicana Feminism, this research centered the voices of 11 Latina undergraduates attending a 4-year private, predominantly white institution in the Western U.S. to understand how they defined and measured their own success in higher education. Traditional success measures focus on the institution's dominant measures, such as graduation and persistence rates. These success measures do not fully represent Latina/o/x values nor how Latinas undergraduates define their own success in higher education. This research revealed that Latina undergraduates define their success by academic achievement, career attainment, Latina/o/x values of familismo and comunidad, and their …

Refugee Higher Education And Participatory Action Research Methods: Lessons Learned From The Field, Hadas Yanay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Refugee access to higher education is devastatingly low. Recognizing the complex barriers facing refugee learners, global educational initiatives are innovating flexible learning models which promote blended online and in-person learning modalities. This article describes the implementation of a five month, online-based internship pilot offered to 21 refugee participants in qualitative and quantitative research methods, through a participatory action research (PAR) framework in five different countries -- Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Lebanon. The internship is part of the Global Education Movement (GEM), which brings refugees accredited online college degree and career development opportunities. Through direct engagement, observation of the …

Systemic Functional Linguistics In The Community College Composition Class: A Multimodal Approach To Teaching Composition Using The Metalanguage Of Sfl, Jennifer James

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This qualitative research study sought to understand the affordances and limitations of a systemic functional linguistics (SFL) approach to teaching composition at the community college level. The study took place over the course of a semester in two developmental college composition classes using the language of SFL to teach writing through multimodal assignments. The study was developed in response to the increasing diversity in writing skills and educational goals of students in the community college composition class. The increase in diversity is a result of legislation in California that restructures developmental class offerings and affects placement in the transfer-level composition …

Perceived Obstacles By Esl Instructors And Required Support For The Integration Of Educational Technology, Xiaotian Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Nowadays, the use of technology has become a significant part of the language learning process inside and outside of the classroom. Many previous studies and surveys, most language educators hold a relatively positive attitude to the usage of technology in language teaching and learning. But many other studies also found that language teachers were not really using technology in their classrooms, or only for very low-level learning and teaching. The integration of technology in second language learning and teaching is still a problem that has not been fully researched.This descriptive study was designed to explore the obstacles that prevent ESL …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lao American College Experience, Jerry Sithiphone

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the Lao American population arrived in the United States after the end of the “American War in Southeast Asia” in 1975 as political refugees. Nevertheless, as Asian Americans, Lao Americans are also stereotyped to be the “model minority” and therefore do not face the same educational and socioeconomical challenges like other communities of color. However, Lao Americans are not the model minority and face numerous obstacles as the community is overlooked and history is forgotten by mainstream America. The lack of scholarly literature on Lao Americans highlights not only the general misunderstanding of the community, but also …

Racial Battle Fatigue And Black Male Higher Education Administrators, Joshua Walehwa

Dissertations

Racial Battle Fatigue was first coined by Dr. William A. Smith as a theory describing the burnout of African Americans in higher education institutions. While much of the current research focuses on the faculty and student experiences, in various formats, this provides an autoethnography capturing the various phases of a Black Male higher education administrators experience with experiencing and coping through Racial Battle Fatigue. The belief behind this approach focuses on the value of storytelling and autoethnography in particular in research, the interconnected nature of life experiences that impact professional life as well as the reverse, and a call to …

Intergenerational Family Learning Programs: Stories Of Latinx, Immigrant Families And Their Journeys To And Through Higher Education, Monica Ramos

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This research presents the stories of three Latinx families who participated in an intergenerational family program. I endeavored to understand their experiences navigating the American system of education and their immigrant stories. Their narratives revealed significant details that can serve as integral elements in the development of an intergenerational learning curriculum based on culture, language, and traditions, and that steps away from the assumptions that perpetrate the deficit-based narratives about Latino families and higher education. Their hopes provide points for further research and advocacy. In this qualitative study, I collected data using semi-structured interviews, including documents and artifacts. The …

Balancing The Demands Of College And Athletics: First-Generation Female Student Athletes’ Perception Of The College Experience, Adrienne Rodriguez

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. The launch of the 1972 Title IX regulation education amendment arrived at a pivotal time for women in sports. “Title IX recognized the uniqueness of intercollegiate athletics by permitting colleges and universities to have separate and equal athletic programs for women” (Hogshead-Makar, & Zimbalist, 2007, p. 2). As more women began to participate in sports, pressures to perform both competitively and academically presented different challenges for female athletes during their collegiate career. For a female student-athletes to be successful in both academics and athletics, the student-athlete must discover a means to sustain a reasonable balance academically and athletically …

Using Spanish In English-Language Spaces: Identifying Bilingual Composition Students' Translanguaging Practices, Maria Isela Maier

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation is a qualitative study that uses ethnographic research methods to examine the translanguaging practices of bilingual students in first-year composition at a university along the U.S.-Mexico border. Specifically, I observe how and why bilingual students employ translanguaging practices, as they are encouraged or invited by their instructors, in contexts where English Standard Language policies exist. The results of this qualitative project demonstrate bilingual students' use of translation as part of their translanguaging practices, as well as a tool that uncovers students' writing processes which also demonstrates their language negotiation. Furthermore, the students' translanguaging practices reveal the rhetorical use …

Assembling A Hispanic-Serving Institution: A Campus Landscape Analysis Of A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Brenda Lee Jimenez Sifuentez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-secondary educational spaces are often thought of as a backdrop to where education takes place. Architectural designs are seen as neutral sites; however, higher education institutions are sites of ideological production and therefore, fundamental exercises of power (Ford, 2017). The study of campus landscapes is relevant to uncovering and illuminating larger social issues of (in)equality in higher education. Literature regarding campus landscapes is scarce and this study seeks to demonstrate how the study of campus landscapes is both materially "real" and socially constructed. This study takes place at a four-year institution of higher education that has received the Hispanic Serving …

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions Of Their International Teaching Assistants (Itas) And Perceptions Of Themselves In A Course(S) Instructed By An Ita, Nadia Hanayeen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The University of Arkansas is a large, diverse public university. International teaching assistants (ITAs) represent 20% of the total graduate teaching assistants at the University of Arkansas. In the Fall semester of 2015, the University of Arkansas ranked 9th among U.S. universities based on the number of ITAs instructing undergraduate classes. Combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods, this study investigated domestic undergraduate students’ perceptions of their ITAs and of themselves in courses instructed by ITAs. The descriptive quantitative findings showed that the two most significant challenges facing ITAs are American students’ perceptions of their pedagogical skills and …

An Empirical Assessment Of Multicultural Education Programs In Reducing Islamophobia On A College Campus, Amin Asfari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anti-Muslim prejudice has increased precipitously since the attacks of September 11, 2001, including prejudicial effects related to socio-cultural differences on college campuses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental exploratory research was to understand the effectiveness of multicultural education programs (MEPs) in reducing anti-Muslim prejudice in higher education. Grounded in intergroup threat theory and frame analysis, it was hypothesized that students who are not engaged in multicultural affairs will perceive Muslims as more threatening and will therefore hold more prejudiced views than would students who active in multicultural affairs. The sample consisted of 125 respondents (N = 51 from a group participating …

Black Student Union Demands: A Response To Racially Hostile Campus Climates, Beleqsa Tamaami

Global Honors Theses

This paper looks at how college campuses across the globe foster racially hostile climates that negatively impact Black students’ college experience both in and outside the classroom. I use Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an analytical framework to examine Black college students demands in response to their experiences with racism on campus. For this thesis, colleges include community colleges, four-year institutions, and universities. In my findings I break down my analysis of the list of Black Student Union (BSU) Demands by looking at how Black college students challenge and respond to a racial climate in both Academic and Student Affairs. …

The Impact Of Diversity On Student Engagement And Academic Success, Latosha C. Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of diversity on student engagement and academic success within a university setting. Understanding the impact of diversity at postsecondary institutions is important because the population of the United States is becoming increasingly diverse, a trend that is also reflected in educational institutions. Previous research has largely focused on diversity among the study body (i.e. admissions) and in the classroom (i.e. curriculum). However, the current study focuses on student experiences with diversity outside of the classroom. Student interactions with peers from diverse backgrounds were measured using the Experiences With Diversity Index …

Exploring Daca Recipients' Access To Higher Education In Connecticut, Chloe V. Shiras

Senior Theses and Projects

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients represent a new and somewhat unexplored population within the undocumented immigrant community. Having only been introduced three years ago, they live within a state of liminality, legally present in the United States for the first time but with the understanding that it can be stripped from them without a moments warning. DACA is an executive order announced by Obama in 2012, which stated that certain DREAMers (young undocumented immigrants who had been brought to the United States by their parents at a young age) would receive temporary relief from deportation, a work permit, …

Developing Short-Term International Education Programs, Darci Counsell

All Graduate Projects

Many universities are seeing the demand for short-term international education programs on their campuses. The purpose of this project is to help the universities in that regard. As a result of the need a hybrid model procedural manual for developing short-term international education programs with faculty for Washington State public and private colleges and universities was developed. To accomplish this purpose Washington State public and private colleges and universities were contacted to determine a need for the project, a review of literature was conducted, existing formal procedures from other colleges and universities across the nation were collected and reviewed for …