Education Commons^™

Establishing A Sense Of Community While Meeting The Needs Of Online Adjunct Instructors, Melissa Weber

Dissertations and Theses

As online adjunct instructors continue to fill an instructional role and meet the needs of online learners, university leaders need to look for ways for professional development to increase online adjunct instructors’ sense of community and meet their diverse needs. The critical problem of this study recognized that online adjunct instructors have different needs than those of on campus faculty; these needs are not being met by traditional means currently used in university settings. Therefore, the overall goal of this qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore how university leaders could establish a sense of community while meeting the professional development …

Leaving College Without A Degree: The Student Experience At An Urban Broad Access Institution, Andrea Marie Garrity

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis seeks to understand how students who leave college without a degree, or non-completers, experience broad access institutions in an effort to shift our thinking from the student characteristics that predict college dropout to how broad access institutions can better serve students and improve graduation rates. To answer this question, I conducted interviews with former students who had recently attended a broad access institution and left without a degree. Results show that participants expressed internalized views of the traditional college student archetype, which was reinforced through their college experience. Further, participants encountered significant bureaucratic challenges and barriers, and expressed …

Creating Systems Of Shared Accountability For Early Leaver Students: Perspectives Of Principals, Lorna Kay Fast Buffalo Horse

Dissertations and Theses

Alternative high schools in the United States perform a significant role for students who drop out, are pushed out, or fall out of conventional high schools. An essential function of alternative high schools is to support some of the most underserved students in the country to graduate from high school. High school graduation is a major factor associated with higher incomes, better health, longer life expectancy, and less involvement in the criminal justice system. It also positively impacts local, state, and national economies. Despite these positive impacts, many alternative high schools are stigmatized as low-performing and even "drop-out factories" by …

An Inquiry Into Developing College Student Socially-Responsible Leadership: Ethics Of Justice And Care In The Midst Of Conflict And Controversy, Jill Frances Childress

Dissertations and Theses

Colleges not only educate students in academic discipline knowledge, but also help them develop skills to meaningfully lead and participate in our complex democracy as socially responsible citizens. All campuses have formal and informal opportunities to engage students in roles that challenge and develop students' socially responsible leadership skills including commitment, common purpose, and collaboration. However, individual and organizational elements such as differences in perspectives and hostile climates can quell leadership and educational participation, inhibit critical student development skills, and result in disempowerment, especially for those students from underserved communities. Given this, a critical question is how can colleges foster …

In Search Of A Third Place On Campus: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Built Space On Students' Sense Of Belonging, Kimberly S. Stave

Dissertations and Theses

Despite decades of environmental behavior research demonstrating the impact physical space has on human behavior, the American university has been slow to adopt this data into campus design and renovation plans. Campus ecology literature has demonstrated that the physical environment of the university campus communicates messages that influence students' feelings of well-being, mattering, and inclusion within the campus community, all significant contributors to student learning and retention.

Campus spaces designed for community building are essential to cultivate a sense of belonging for university students, however, locations dedicated to this type of social interaction, such as third places, are an often-underestimated …

Online Learners: A Study Of Their Advising Attitudes, Experiences, And Learning, Stephen Philip Jenkins

Dissertations and Theses

Academic advising for online learners has been identified in prior research as an important student service. However, little research exists to assist advisers in knowing how best to serve this growing group. The purpose of this study is to close that research gap by determining if and how online and on-campus learners differ in how they rate the importance of various functions of academic advising as well as determining if their frequency of access to academic advising and source of advising information differed. Additionally, the research examines if the types and levels of learning for online learners varied by frequency …

Evaluating Alternative High Schools: Program Evaluation In Action, Drew Samuel Wayne Hinds

Dissertations and Theses

Alternative high schools serve some of the most vulnerable students and their programs present a significant challenge to evaluate. Determining the impact of an alternative high school that serves mostly at-risk students presented a significant research problem. Few studies exist that dig deeper into the characteristics and strategies of successful alternative schooling. Moreover valid program evaluation methods to identify successful alternative school practices are hit and miss. As a result, public policy and systems of accountability have either disregarded information relating to alternative high schools or unjustifiably included them in comparisons with traditional high schools.

This dissertation studied the issue …

Student Employment In Student Affairs Units: Characteristics Of Educationally Purposeful Environments, Shannon Timm Watson

Dissertations and Theses

Approximately 80% of undergraduate students work during the course of their undergraduate studies. Ideally, student's on-campus employment would contribute to his or her learning and development. However, because student employment is typically approached as the fulfillment of job tasks rather than student development, higher education institutions miss critical opportunities for supporting student academic and social integration. This study reframes on-campus student employment as a developmental effort. Data in this qualitative study indicate that on-campus employment can offer opportunities for student development and academic and social integration, and that it can positively influence students' sense of mattering and overall satisfaction with …

An Assessment Of The Adequacy Of The Services Of An Urban Public University For International And U.S. Students: A Comparative Study, Alfonso Hernandez Pioquinto

Dissertations and Theses

This study compares the instructional, academic support, and student services needs of international and American students at Portland State University (PSU), Portland, Oregon. Variables measured include the perceived importance of university-related services, and the level of satisfaction with services received. A questionnaire with 26 background questions and 41 service-related items for ranking and discussion was mailed to 225 undergraduate international students and 225 undergraduate American students, with a response rate of 52%. Responses were tabulated to ascertain demographic profile of PSU students, importance of university services to international students at PSU, current level of satisfaction of international students in regards …

International Education In The Public Community Colleges Of Oregon And Washington, Stephan Ernest Cragg

Dissertations and Theses

There were at least five purposes in pursuing research on international education in the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington states. The first purpose was to fully demonstrate a new and original taxonomy of ten elements, or dimensions, found in defining and describing international education. A second purpose was to add to the body of knowledge and research on international education practices at the nation's community colleges through an extensive literature search and original research. A third purpose of the study was to identify and describe the current status of international educational programs and activities of the forty-three public …

Creative Drama As An Instructional Strategy In Adult Christian Education, Darlene Richards Graves

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the tenents of adult learning. Christian education and creative drama and presents the observation that there are parallel objectives in each of these three major areas. Noting that creative drama is rarely used in adult Christian education, which is primarily cognitive-based and lecture-discussion oriented, the study proposes the application of creative drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a balance of focus between cognitive, affective, reflective and active learning styles in adult Christian education. It also suggests that through …

A Performance Appraisal Model For Postsecondary Education, Peggy Connolly

Dissertations and Theses

Purpose. Although performance appraisal is an important factor in the successful operation of organizations, it is often a difficult and threatening task. Traditional approaches to evaluation have proved to be neither effective nor in legal compliance. This problem affects postsecondary institutions, where customary subjective appraisal contributes to undesirable employment discrimination.

This study provides postsecondary administrators with an effective and legally defensible model of performance appraisal. Research addressed these questions: (1) What does statutory law mandate in appraisal? (2) What issues, patterns, and decisions concerning appraisal have been identified through the judicial process, and what degree of consistency has been shown …