Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Sense Of Belonging In First-Generation College Students On Gpa And Retention, Lynda Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this quantitative, correlational study were to (a) understand how the perceived sense of belonging in first-generation students impacts their academic success, as defined by GPA, and (b) to determine how the aforementioned factors impact the students' intention to persist. A survey was distributed to all reported first-generation students at Rowan University with questions including demographics, an adapted sense of belonging index, intention to persist, GPA, and co-curricular involvement (N = 285). Research indicated that 89.8% of students recorded moderate to high levels of sense of belonging. Regression analyses revealed that a positive relationship exists between sense of …

Are We Prepared?: A Quantitative Study Of Elementary School Counselors' Knowledge, Skills, And Dispositions To Working With Lgbtq Youth, Kristina D. Weiss

Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that there are over three million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the United States. Based on their perceived or real sexual orientation and gender identity, these youth face multiple accounts of bias and discrimination in schools. As a source of solace, many LGBTQ students seek out adult supports in school, namely the school counselor. While extensive research exists about the interactions and capabilities of secondary school counselors to work with LGBTQ youth, there is a limited research surrounding elementary school counselor's competencies with this population. The purpose of this quantitative research was to …

Career-Advising From The Primary Role Academic Advisor's Viewpoint: A Qualitative Case Study, Julia Elizabeth Rey

Theses and Dissertations

The role of today's primary role academic advisor is robust and multifaceted. Advisors must continually provide supportive outreach and engagement to address student interests, develop academic plans, and identify career paths from the time students first enroll, throughout their college experience, and oftentimes, well past graduation. Although meeting with students is at the forefront of expected duties, advisors must also balance working with various data sets and systems, faculty and chairs, and stay abreast of changes in procedures and processes. The purpose of this inquiry was to document and further understand the current career-advising practices of primary role academic advisors …

Barriers That Impede Foreign-Born And Educated Male Nursing Students' Success In A United States Nursing Program: A Case Study, Lisa Marie Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

The United States has a 36% shortage of full-time nurses. This is projected to worsen. There will be a need for 260, 000 more nurses by 2025 and more than 581,000 new nursing positions will be created through 2024 (American Association College of Nursing, 2011; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). By 2030, New Jersey's shortage of nurses will exceed 43% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). If a diverse population of students complete a nursing program and become nurses working in the field, the literature reports that there are better client outcomes when the healthcare industry mirrors …

A Grounded Theory Of The Impact Of Teachnj On The Instructional Leadership Of Superintendents, Russell Matthew Lazovick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory, grounded in data obtained by interviewing current superintendents on how TEACHNJ has impacted their ability to improve student performance. TEACHNJ is a law enacted by the state of New Jersey to improve teacher quality and raise student performance by changing evaluation and tenure processes in order to create greater transparency, equity, consistency, and accountability across districts. This study examined the law's impact on five specific actions superintendents can take that have been found to enhance student performance. The study found that TEACHNJ served as a punctuating event, sending …

Student Involvement As A Predictor Of Alumni Engagement, Ryan J. Aloi

Theses and Dissertations

The role of this study is to research the role that student involvement plays on alumni engagement. In an attempt to answer the following questions, a case study was conducted looking at the engagement and giving records of 10 randomly selected profiles from the graduating classes of 2016 through 2019 (N = 40) as well as reviewing the involvement patterns of the general qualifying student population within the ProfLink student involvement platform (N = 4237) and the qualifying engaged population (N = 805). What is the relationship between undergraduate co-curricular experiences and a student's engagement as alumni? What types of …

Emotional Support Animals On Campus: An Analysis Of Student Experience, Timothy Alexander Lauth

Theses and Dissertations

This is a study of student interactions and opinions regarding emotional support animals (ESAs) or service animals in on-campus residential housing. Specifically, this study was designed to garner the opinions of residential students who live in close proximity to an ESA or service animal but do not have one of their own, essentially the roommates of an approved animal owner. An online survey was distributed to students at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ during the 2019-2020 academic year. All participants were enrolled students who resided in on-campus housing in close proximity to an ESA or service animal.

The results of …

The Experiences Of First-Generation Master's Students, Dominique A. Pierson

Theses and Dissertations

First-generation college students are a heavily researched student population who are represented as being first in their family to go to college and graduate. Scholars suggest there are many barriers impacting their college accessibility, affordability, retention, and overall success, therefore, have called for specific services and interventions of support within higher education to help first-generation students persist. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of first-generation students who do persist and pursue advanced educational aspirations. Specifically, first-generation master's students are the subject of this phenomenological study designed to explore the experiences of eight students through one-on-one interviews. …

Women Of Color In Higher Education, Melissa Minaya

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to capture the essence of the stories of women of color at Rowan University. Additionally, the study would capture how women of color in their junior or senior year feel about institutional support. The combination of both the essence in their story, in other words, the importance behind their experiences, and their perception of institutional support will lead to recommendations to Rowan University.

In order to capture the essence of the women of color that participated in this study, I held individual open-ended interviews with each participant. The overall goal was to get three …

University Hookup Culture: Convenient Or A Path To Sexual Assault?, Gabriella Longenbach

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to have a better understanding of the potential impact that hookup culture has on college students today. While this culture can be convenient and the most modern way of getting to know someone sexually, it also has the chance to be dangerous. By learning how this culture works and how college students engage in it, university employees and higher education professionals can support students through sexually related issues that they might come across.

Using Distributed Leadership To Impact Student Achievement, Jeffrey Pierro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the properties of the distributive leadership scores and to investigate whether the scores predict student test scores. This research was conducted during the 2019-2020 school year at Rowan University. The sample for this study will be selected from the principals from public school districts in New Jersey. Data was collected using one instrument with two parts: a pre-survey and Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale (DLRS) developed by Gordon (2005). SPSS 26 software was used to analyze the data and answer the research questions. While both linear regressions have significant variables impacting the …

Reading Conferences And Impact On Literacy Learning, Ashley Butenewicz Danter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how student discussions during reading conferences impact literacy learning in the areas of student comprehension and motivation. Surveys, interviews, audio recorded discussions, and notes in a teacher research journal were all analyzed for emerging themes. The findings show that reading conferences have a positive impact on student literacy learning, specifically that there was an increase in reading comprehension and motivation. The data also revealed the major role that critical, multicultural texts have on reading comprehension and motivation for reading when coupled with reading conferences. Implications for future research are discussed.

Effects Of A Well-Being Retreat On College Students, William Wikoff Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health scores on college campuses often seem to be spiraling in a downward trend. College students frequently cite be more depressed and more anxious than the rest of the population, and they are also at a higher risk for suicide than other members of society (Beiter et al., 2016; Davidson, 2016; Henriques, 2014; Holland, 2016; Mey, 2015). Rowan University's recent Rowan Thrive initiative is a cross-campus collaboration that sets out to improve students' well-being through education and programming with a host of programs under its umbrella. One of these programs is the Recharge & Connect Retreat, a 3-day and …

The Impact Of Learning Communities On First-Generation Minority Student Persistence At Rowan University, Briana Vogel Collins

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze Rowan University's Flying First and ASCEND learning communities in regard to first-generation minority student persistence. The study took place at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ in the spring 2020 semester. The purpose for this qualitative study is to explore the impact that the Flying First and ASCEND/RISE learning communities have on first-generation minority student persistence using an outcomes assessment. Researchers have conducted a plethora of research on learning communities, marginalized first-generation students, and persistence/retention rates. However, there has been little research done on the topic of all three themes and how they …

Black Male College Students' Perspectives On The Contribution Of Black Student Organizations To Their Development Of Soft Skills, Shanice Angela Glover

Theses and Dissertations

The following study is an exploration of the views Black male college students have of the soft skills they have developed through participation in a predominately Black student organization. I used a focus group moderator guide with questions, adapted from Stansberry and Burnett (2014) and modified from Evans (2016) and Saraceno (2019) to serve as the instrument for this qualitative study. I gathered data from a focus groups consisting of Black male college students who are enrolled at Rowan University and participate in Black student organizations on campus. The focus group discussion pertained to the participants' experiences with predominantly Black …

Exploration Of First-Generation Student-Athlete Experiences At A Suburban Division Iii Institution, Mandy Jiang

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the experiences of first-generation student-athletes (FGSA) on a college campus. One major goal of this study is to offer new discussion for first-generation student-athletes to increase awareness on this population in current literature. While there is research on first-generation students and collegiate student-athletes as separate identities, this specific population, combining both identities, has not been at the forefront of scholarly research (Oratagus & Merson, 2015). By expanding the current literature with evidence-based research, student affairs professionals and college athletic administrators can better enhance the experiences of first-generation student-athletes on their campuses. …

Understanding The Motivations Of Nonmonetary Young Alumni Engagement, Olivia Rose Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

Universities with influential young alumni connections typically have more productive and prosperous institutions (McDearmon, 2013; Volin, 2016; Weerts, Cabrera, & Sanford, 2010; Weerts & Ronca, 2008). However, alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years are reportedly the least contacted alumni because of their lower response rates (Freeland, Spenner, & McCalmon, 2014; Weerts & Ronca, 2008). This study focuses on the determination of motivations that encourage young alumni to engage in nonmonetary efforts with their Alma Mata Rowan University. In this study, young alumni were defined as Rowan Alumni who graduated since 2010 and have attended one or more …

The Forgotten Voices: African American Male Adult Learners And Their Experiences In Higher Education, Ajeenah H. Nuriddin-Little

Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry research explored the lived experiences of six African American male adult learners enrolled at a four-year public research institution in an urban area located in the northeastern United States. The following questions guided the study: (a) How do African American male adult learners at a four-year research institution describe their experiences? (b) What environmental factors do African American male adult learners feel have shaped their academic success or non-academic success in college? (c) How does the double consciousness framework help to explain or make sense of the narrative of the African American male adult learner? This study …

Until Superheroes Learn How To Use Their Power: Exploring The Triple Consciousness Of African American Male Students Identified As Dis/Abled, Janelle N. Smith-Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

As early as elementary school, African American students are labeled and passed along from teacher to teacher with negative stigma and stereotypes (Wright, 2018). This negative academic self-concept adversely affects and shapes a deficit lens rather than a strength-based perspective and may further perpetuate trauma, mirroring the disproportionate inequities within education (Banks, 2017; Wright, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore how African American males identified as having specific learning dis/abilities understand their triple consciousness and what particular experiences influence their post-high school decisions (Stake, 2006). The study investigated the multidimensional lived experiences of eight …

The Impact Of Residence Hall Construction Type On Student Engagement, Gene Jabar Washington

Theses and Dissertations

College and university student housing has changed dramatically since the opening of Harvard College in 1636. Despite these changes, student housing professionals are still tasked with engaging their students. This can sometimes be difficult depending on outside forces such as the physical structure of a building. The purpose of this study was to determine what physical aspects of a residence hall do students and undergraduate live-in student staff value in terms of engaging their students and building a community. For this study focus groups were conducted for student and staff of traditional residence halls and public-private partnership residence halls. Common …

Sport Clubs And Wellness: Analyzing The Impact Being A Sports Clubs Member Has On The Dimensions Of Wellness, Michael Anthony Brito

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how a student's wellness is impacted through participation in sport clubs. This was done at a division three public institution with a Campus Recreation department, which offers 45 sport clubs. This study was conducted during the spring 2020 semester at Rowan University by distributing an online survey. The survey focused on gaining information about their sport club experience and the impact on occupational, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical dimensions. As well as understanding the factors that may affect their wellness.

The findings of this study showed a high positive impact to …

New Jersey Community College And High School Concurrent Enrollment Program (Cep) Partnerships Case Study, Darlene Mary Schapley

Theses and Dissertations

Students who are not college ready enter New Jersey Community Colleges placing in developmental education delaying entry into their degree program and possibly ending their aspiration for college completion. Students not completing a college degree cannot compete for livable wage jobs in America. My qualitative multiple case study contributed to the gap in knowledge about New Jersey partnerships offering comprehensive CEP programs including math and English from the participant perspectives. CEP partnerships engaged students in college coursework at New Jersey high schools in collaboration with New Jersey community colleges. These collaborations are great opportunities for community colleges to provide access …

A Program Evaluation Of The Academic Reboot Program At Rowan University, Kayla Raparelli

Theses and Dissertations

The Academic Reboot Program at Rowan University was designed to assist students on Academic Warning and Academic Probation with the University improve their GPA so that they may remain a student at the University. The purpose of this evaluation is to collect information that will assist in improving the effectiveness of the Academic Reboot Program on student academic achievement. This evaluation discusses the history of college academic rehabilitation programs, the significance of college academic rehabilitation programs, common barriers to success reported by students, and a variety of intervention strategies for students on Academic Warning and Academic Probation.

In this evaluation, …

The Impact Of High-Intensity Work On Student Employees From Disadvantaged Social Backgrounds, Jessica Della Hassell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of high-intensity work on low-income students at Rowan University. This study assesses the needs of students from low-income families. It examines the impact of employment with regards to engagement.

The Impact Of Academic Advising On Graduate Students' Perceptions Of Their Academic Success, Jason Salvatore

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to analyze how graduate students perceive their own academic success in their degree programs, and how that success is related to their experience with their academic advisors. This quantitative study consisted of a 16 question Likert scale survey and was sent to 1,258 graduate students at Rowan University. The students invited to participate in this survey were in degree programs from various Rowan University academic colleges. The purpose of this thesis is to review how important academic advising is to graduate student mentalities at Rowan University regarding their own success academically. There has been …

The Lived Experiences Of First-Generation Black Men At A Predominantly White Institution And The Impact Of Sense Of Belonging On Their Social And Academic Integration, Mir Hatef Alavi Tabrizi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of first-generation Black men (FGBM) at a predominantly White institution (PWI). Through using Strayhorn's (2012, 2018) college sense of belonging and Tinto's (1993) student integration model of attrition theories, I examined the overall college experiences of FGBM at a PWI. When first-generation college students enter college, they are faced with academic, social, and financial challenges that make navigating college difficult (Ishitani, 2006). Additionally, Black undergraduate male students are faced with microaggressions, discrimination, alienation, stereotype, and cultural issues when they enroll in college (Harper, 2012; Strayhorn, 2008). These experiences have …

Bridge Or Barrier?, Andrea Denise Piercy

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to determine how participation in a summer bridge program prior to beginning an undergraduate collegiate career positively or negatively affects student success throughout their time at a college or university Additionally, the study took a look at the positive and negative transitional experiences of the students who participated. This qualitative study was completed by student participants who are currently enrolled at Rowan University and have participated in the ASCEND/EOF program. As a result of the study, the research will suggest recommendations based off of the feedback and experiences she received from the students who …

Small Places, Big Outcomes: An Ethnographic Case Study On Social Emotional Learning Skills And Development, Organizational Culture, And Place-Making In Small, Rural Schools In Southern New Jersey, Christina Marie Didonato Dillon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, ethnographic case study was to describe the ways in which three school leaders from small, rural PreK-8 districts (less than 1,000 students) in Southern New Jersey used similar methods for fostering partnerships with families and bonds between individuals, families and schools to address social emotional learning skills and development in the early childhood setting (grades pre-kindergarten through third grade). In addition, this study examined how the organizational culture of the educational organizations reinforced or undermined the relationship between school and family partnerships and bonds. This study investigated the linkage between school leaders' experiences and social …

Transcultural And Translinguistic Latinx Discourses: Challenging Raciolinguistic Discourses In A School Community - Towards A Frame Of Resistance, Madjiguene Salma Bah Fall

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study grounded in ethnographic methods examined how transcultural and translinguistic students responded to ideological discourses in their school community. I explored the discourses of social power and hierarchical structures and ideological discourses present in the students' experiences, and investigated how they accepted or rejected the ideologies exhibited in these discourses. This research was motivated by three questions: (1) What are the discourses of social power and hierarchical structures present in the experiences of middle-school Latinx transcultural and translinguistic students in their school community? (2) What ideological discourses are enacted in these experiences? (3) How do these students …

College Students With Disabilities' Perceptions Of An Academic Coaching Program Provided By Disability Resources, Benjamin Zachariah Wilner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore students' perceptions of the effectiveness of academic coaching for students with disabilities based on their majors. Based on the research question, this study was to identify how the Academic Coaching Program at Rowan University helps students become integrated into their majors. The participants in this study were five undergraduate students between 18-22 years old, who are registered with the Disability Resources Office, and have previously participated in the Academic Coaching Program. In this study, I conducted one semi-structured interview towards each student. Data was collected using an interview protocol, which …