Education Commons^™

Equity Issues In Dual Enrollment Programs: Exploring African American Community College Students’ Perceptions Of Dual Enrollment, Kristen Wagner Rarig

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Dual enrollment has been shown to increase post-secondary student success outcomes across a variety of measures such as retention, grade point average, and four-year attainment (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Hoffman, 2012, Pretlow & Wathington, 2014). In Virginia, access to community colleges among students of color has increased from 32.3% in 2008 to 42.7% in 2018 (SCHEV, 2019-a). Despite these gains, far fewer African American students than White students participate in dual enrollment in Virginia, which has significant implications for their future success in post-secondary education. This study examined the experiences that influenced African American students’ choice to participate in dual …

Creating A Culture Of Courage: A Behavioral Health Study Of Resilience And Response To Traumatic Events For Firefighters, Brett Ellis

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Firefighters experience a variety of challenging situations and traumatic events while performing necessary job duties as public servants, which can create behavioral health concerns and even suicide ideation. The purpose of this study is to recognize how individual resilience relates to lived experiences for firefighters who may need next-level behavioral healthcare, which in turn, will identify higher “at risk” firefighters with suicide ideation who need increased mental and emotional care outside of peer interventions. The fundamental question centers on what role does individual resilience, as well as formal and informal resources of behavioral health support, play in mitigating the impact …

Slow Progress Towards Equity At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi): A Case Study, Paulette Lopez

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

This case study examined how a specific Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) pursues an institutional equity agenda. Through interviews with sixteen full-time employees representing a two-year public institution of higher education in the Pacific Northwest, this study explored faculty and staff perceptions of the purpose of an HSI designation and the intentionality of serving Latina/o students. The literature review provides a historical context of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and the role MSIs serve in higher education. Themes identified through an in-depth thematic analysis include knowledge and awareness of HSIs, serving and supporting students, access and opportunities, and sense of community. Findings revealed the …

Generation Z: Perceptions From Today’S Collegiate Athlete On The Coach-Athlete Relationship And Its Impact On Success In Athletics, Mandy R. Vance

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Members of Generation Z now fill not only the dorms of higher education institutions, but also the rosters of each collegiate athletic team. Dubbed by many as the tech generation, they are the digital natives that have—in many respects—grown up more connected than their predecessors, and yet self admittedly lack the relational connectedness that they desire. Coaches and athletic policymakers must recognize the defining relational characteristics and needs of this generation of athletes if they hope to maximize athletic success. Using a qualitative design, this study explored the coach-athlete dyadic relational needs of collegiate Generation Z athletes from various institutions …

Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of The Interplay Of Factors Affecting Burnout In Academic Medical Faculty., Tara Mckinley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines burnout in academic medical faculty. The medical literature reports 30-45% of physicians are burned out and presents a long list of potential drivers of burnout. Interventions have shown limited success at the individual level and greater success at the organizational level, but large-scale interventions are typically time- and cost-intensive. Using the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study seeks to present the ways personal, interpersonal, and job characteristics are interpreted as demands or resources by faculty and how those demands and resources work together to drive or mitigate burnout. Over six chapters, this …

How Two High School Teachers Conceive Of Student Voice, Value It, And Foster It, Katherine Mary Mccleary

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory study was to examine two high school English teachers’ experience as they worked together to purposefully implement increased student voice in their classrooms. The study focused on how a convenience sample of teachers designed, implemented, and reflected upon classroom assignments and lessons with the intention to increase student voice and ownership in the classroom. Teachers each participated in four individual interviews, four partnership observations and three classroom observations as they related to student voice implementation.

Data from the interviews, partnership observations and classroom observations were analyzed using qualitative methods and through the lenses of …

Experiences Of Postsecondary Students With Physical Disabilities With Online Learning, Amanda Elizabeth Cole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over one tenth of students in postsecondary education have a documented disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. However, faculty and course designers often lack understanding of these students' experiences, which leads to insufficient accommodations. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of students with physical disabilities (SWD) in online courses. The research was grounded in self-determination theory, which posits 3 basic needs for self-actualization: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This theory in combination with universal design for learning provided a lens for exploring these experiences. Data collection included 8 interviews with postsecondary students …

Hidden Cracks In The Leaking Stem Pipeline: Retention Within First-Generation Latinx Students In Baccalaureate Stem Programs At Predominately White Institutions, Kevin Kandamby

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis documents the lived experiences of first-generation Latinx students navigating

through predominately white institutions while attaining or attempting to attain a STEM degree. To examine this, twelve students from five different institutions were interviewed in semi- structured focus groups to better understand the educational trajectories of students in STEM. Inadequate high school preparation, educational disparities, mental health, and lack of institutional support were some of the reoccurring concerns students had across all focus groups. Students also highlighted that cultural competency across faculty in STEM, support from identity groups, and returning back to their Latinx community to serve as professionals …

An Exploratory Phenomenological Study To Investigate The Necessity Of An Athlete-Specific Bystander Intervention Program, Alexander Ian Gaits Hoffman

All ETDs from UAB

It has been well established that college athletes are among the most at-risk student populations for engaging in heavy episodic drinking and other risky alcohol and drug use behavior including but not limited to risky sexual behavior. Despite this knowledge, to date there are no truly effective long-term education, intervention, prevention, or treatment programs. This is especially true for bystander approaches. Bystander interventions have shown effectiveness in decreasing sexual assaults and changing rape mythology, but there has not been much research on its effectiveness on alcohol and drug use. There is also a lack of knowledge and understanding on how …

The Use Of Ict By Science Teachers In Middle Secondary Science Education In The Himalayan Kingdom Of Bhutan, Sampa Tshewang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigated Bhutanese middle secondary science teachers’ ICT knowledge, skills, perceptions and attitudes, patterns of ICT use, and associated factors linked to effective ICT implementation in their classrooms. The study was based on the hypothesis that the use of ICT in secondary science education in Bhutan was affected by the teachers’ attitudes and perceptions towards the use of ICT; their knowledge and skills related to ICT; their TPACK and the barriers associated with effective implementation of ICT.

The research was primarily an exploratory study accommodating a post-positivist approach employing mixed design of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A questionnaire …