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Is Faith On The Campus Tour? Rural, Public College Students' Exploration Of Spiritual And Religious Identity, Tamara Durant

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract

This dissertation examined how students of diverse spiritual or religious beliefs or worldviews at a rural, public college interpreted, made meaning of, and drew upon their spirituality in relation to other aspects of their identity (e.g., race, gender, sexual identity), focusing particularly on the intersections of students' multiple marginalized identities. It was a single-site, qualitative study involving 20 participants attending a rural, mid-sized, predominantly-White northeastern public university. The researcher used semi-structured, in-person interviews, gathering and analyzing data using symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) with the critical stance possible from applying the lens of the Reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of …

The Role Of Higher Education In Rural Community Development, Anita Faye Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions commonly play a role in community development. Rural communities may be even more dependent on the university's investment. As higher education has looked to meet demands of stakeholders calling for greater accountability, it has become necessary for universities to be able to justify the effectiveness of these efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the elements necessary for successful rural community development in Western Oklahoma. Utilizing the Delphi research method, 20 community development experts in rural Western Oklahoma participated in the three-round survey process. In the initial survey, participants collectively submitted a list of 41 …

School Climate And Risky Behaviors Among Rural Adolescents, Marissa Sherri Green

Theses and Dissertations

The present study sought to determine whether rural high school students' positive perceptions of their school climate could make it less likely that they would engage in or be exposed to risky behaviors, and if students' gender and grade moderated this association. School climate is a construct that consists of the following five major dimensions: Safety, Relationships, Teaching and Learning, the Instructional Environment, and the School Improvement Process, although this final dimension was not assessed in the current study (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, and Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2013). The specific risky behaviors that were examined in this study were delinquent behaviors, victimization, substance …

Access Barriers To Higher Education For Rural Community College Students, Shanda Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to examine factors related to rural low-income, first generation college students' obstacles to community college enrollment. The study examined barriers students overcame to attend college and focused on rural college students from two community colleges in Missouri and Arkansas. The following questions guided the research:

1.What attendance barriers did rural community college students identify as being most difficult for them to overcome?

2.Were there differences between the self-identified attendance barriers based on gender for male and female rural community college students?

3.Were there differences in attendance barriers for rural community college students based …

The Perceptions Of Increased Student Loan Debt On The College Choice And Enrollment Of Rural Low-Income Students, Chinasa Ordu

All Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the college choice experience of rural low-income students and how their potential use of student loans influenced their college choice decisions. In order to conduct this research study, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data source. Additional data sources included demographic surveys, a site visit, online resources, and meeting with key informants. The primary research question used to guide this study included: * How do rural, low-income students describe their experiences with their college choice process? The following secondary questions included in this study were: * …

Impediments To Serving Students With Learning Disabilities In A Rural Community College Setting: The Administrative Perspective, Seth Gent

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the challenges rural southern Appalachian community colleges officials face when serving students with learning disabilities. Upon entering community college, learning disabled students are often unfamiliar with many of the expectations that may be necessary to ensure their academic success such as self-disclosing to ensure they are provided adequate services, becoming self-advocates, and navigating requirements of post-secondary education. This study consisted of 15 interviews from five different community colleges across the rural southern Appalachian region in which senior level, mid-level, and front line community college officials dealing with students with learning disabilities were interviewed. A document review …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Dropout Prevention Strategies In A Rural Ninth Grade Academy, Shawn A. Davidson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dropout rate among Georgia high school students is a critical issue within the United States’ educational system. As a result, large numbers of programs have been created to reduce the dropout rate. This study examined the stakeholders’ perceptions of dropout prevention strategies in a rural ninth grade academy to examine effective dropout prevention programs implemented at the school. Participants in the study included administrators, teachers, and students who dropped out of the academy between 2009 and 2012. Interviews were conducted to gather information from the participants. In addition, school and district documents related to prevention programs at the academy …

Never Forget Where You Came From: An Oral History Of The Integration Of A Rural Community, Heather N. Stone

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Historians have written much, particularly about large urban cities, on the desegregation of the American school system (Anderson 1988; Fairclough 2008; Watkins 2001; Irons 2004). However, little research has been conducted on the role that small communities played in supporting and influencing the development of desegregated school systems, and how African Americans in these communities experienced education. The focus of this research will be on the oral history of a rural community in Louisiana that desegregated schools in the early 1970s. What is unique is that, instead of avoiding desegregation, this community chose to create a unified school district in …