Education Commons^™

Understanding First-Generation Hispanic Student Experiences With Community College Campus Resources, Monica Medina

All Theses And Dissertations

Community colleges serve as an essential gateway to higher education for Hispanics. Although first-generation Hispanic (FGHC) students continue to enroll in community colleges, there is limited research to explain their experiences using campus resources. This study’s purpose was to contribute to the existing literature on FGHC students and determine if their use of campus resources helped them succeed. This study used the conceptual framework of academic engagement (Tinto, 1996). Nora’s (2003) and Nora et al’s (2006) student engagement theory as lenses to explain how FGHC students can have pre-college characteristics that can affect their social, academic, and overall goals for …

The Tesol 6 Principles Of Exemplary Teaching Of English Learners: Perceived Effectiveness In The Community College Esl Classroom, Stephanie N. Marcotte

All Theses And Dissertations

Community college English as a second language (ESL) programs provide targeted English language support to diverse student populations. Limited research exists pertaining to the instruction taking place within community college ESL programs. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore community college ESL faculty-perceived effectiveness in their use of the TESOL 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English learners. The study asked, What is the community college ESL faculty’s perspective of their effectiveness in their application of the TESOL 6 Principles? Participants in this study included full-time, adjunct, and retired professors from community colleges across Massachusetts. They were invited …

Cultivating Leaders: Professional Development Needs Of Community College Chairs, Heidi Kirkman

All Theses And Dissertations

Higher education is currently experiencing industry changes that make good leadership even more crucial. However, most academic leaders arrive at their first leadership position with no leadership training and find the transition challenging. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the lived experiences of community college chairs in relation to leadership development practices. The research questions that drive this study are (a) What competencies/skills are needed for performing the department chair role? (b) What are the professional development needs of community college department chairs? (c) What types of professional development do department chairs find most valuable? (d) What …

Relationship Between Non-Cognitive Skills And Gpa In A Rural Maine Community College, Rebecca A. Martin

All Theses And Dissertations

The 21st century has altered the workscape, emphasizing non-cognitive skills required for success in the workforce. Community colleges that profess workforce readiness in their workreadiness programs use primarily cognitive assessment to ensure content and curricular learning. This quantitative study of rural Maine community college graduates examined non-cognitive workforce skills from this workforce readiness institution, correlating non-cognitive instrument scores to the standard cognitive score, cumulative grade point average (GPA). The Social-Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) and the Review of Personal Experience with Locus of Control (ROPELOC) data were examined in relation to cumulative grade point average (GPA) to assess for the …

Millennial Male Associate Degree Of Nursing Students: Perceived Motivators, Benefits And Barriers, Daniela Brink

All Theses And Dissertations

There is a severe nursing shortage in the United States which affects the delivery of healthcare. The reasons for the nursing shortage are many and complex including the national movement toward healthcare reform, an aging population making greater demands on an already stressed healthcare system, and stereotypical attitudes about the work of nursing in general. While men comprise approximately half of the population, men represent only 9.6% of the nursing profession. As millennials are the current emerging workforce, this problem of a nursing shortage could be addressed by increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce to include more men from …

Students' Perceptions Of Leadership Skills Gained At A County College, Kevin R. Dalina

All Theses And Dissertations

Many colleges offer leadership programs or multiple ways students can develop leadership skills like participation in student clubs or working on campus. Institutions do not always assess or evaluate where or how students learn leadership skills. This dissertation study investigated what leadership skills students are learning and where they learn them at a county college located in Central New Jersey. This study employed qualitative research methods where 9 students who participated were a sample of 45 students who participated in the county college’s leadership development program. The 9 students first participated in a focus group interview about what leadership skills …

Two-Year College Faculty Perspectives On Developmental Student Persistence: A Case Study, Mary Colleen Patterson

All Theses And Dissertations

This study sought to understand the perspectives of two-year college composition faculty concerning the persistence of students in their developmental composition courses. Research has shown that developmental students are a population at risk for leaving college before completing their degree programs and that students are more likely to persist to reach their goals when they’ve built meaningful connections with faculty. Many factors affect faculty ability to connect with developmental students such as faculty history, teaching preparation, and work load.

This study answered four research questions: 1) how do faculty describe and perceive their experience in encouraging developmental students to persist? …