Education Commons^™

Experiences With Student Loan Debt: A Phenomenological Study Of First-Generation, Low-Income College Graduates, Sarah Leigh Gardner Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

First-generation and low-income (FGLI) individuals currently represent a large percentage of the total undergraduate student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities. Student loan debt in the United States is also at an all-time high with approximately 43 million Americans sharing the $1.75 trillion total. Because FGLI individuals, like many other college students, often take on large amounts of student loan debt to successfully graduate college, it is worth learning more about the long-term effects that student loan debt has on the experiences of FGLI college graduates within the first ten years of graduating with a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of …

Developing An Instrument To Measure Food Insecurity Among College Students, Hannah Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument to measure the prevalence and degree of food insecurity among college students with respect to their demographic characteristics. This survey instrument was piloted to a sample of college students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The College Student Food Insecurity (CSFI) survey instrument was designed using a Likert format with 5 levels of agreement. Items for the CSFI were created through brainstorming, a review of the USDA Food Insecurity Modules, and a review of the literature with a focus on three concepts: access or awareness of …

Conceptualization And Operationalization Of College Readiness For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Study With Transition Stakeholders, Jordan A. Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations

The poor success rates of students with learning disabilities transitioning to postsecondary education signal that special education transition services, as currently delivered, are failing to prepare students adequately for the demands and expectations they face in college. To date, transition research has provided limited guidance for IEP team members and other stakeholders charged with preparing students with learning disabilities for success in higher education. Furthermore, existing literature is nearly silent on the process of postsecondary education transition service decision-making, and team member understanding of college readiness. I use constructivist grounded theory and semi-structured interviews to explore the question, “How do …

Perspectives Of Augmentative-Alternative Communication Users Regarding Their Experiences And Perceived Barriers To Engagement In Higher Education, Heather Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigated the higher education experience of students who communicate via augmentative-alternative communication (AAC) due to having severe speech impairments. Research questions addressed how the students interact with others in the higher education setting, and the presence and nature of any barriers to full participation in academic and nonacademic activities. Using a qualitative case study design, data obtained from personal interviews and questionnaires were analyzed and interpreted based on the theoretical perspectives of critical disability theory and Astin’s model of student involvement. Key themes included issues with communication; challenges associated with disability; and policy and practice, specifically the role …

The Relationships Among Levels Of Hope, Coping Efficacy And Postsecondary Educational Expectations Of High School Seniors, Linda D. Griffin

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to answer two research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between high school seniors' levels of hope and their postsecondary educational plans? and (2) Is there a relationship between high school seniors' coping efficacy and their postsecondary educational plans? Three hundred and twenty-five students enrolled in English IV classes from seven high schools in three separate school districts in north central Louisiana completed the three survey instruments. Standard descriptive statistics were derived as appropriate for each of the two independent variables and dependent variable. The two independent variables were hope, as measured by the …