Education Commons^™

Making Meaning In The Anthropocene: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Investigation Of College Student Response To Planetary Ecological Crises, Kristen Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations

Higher education, with its core purpose in the generation and transmission of knowledge, has a particular role to play in society’s response to the global ecological crisis. Yet a key question is whether higher education is part of the problem or part of the solution. Sustainability educators insist that higher education, if it is to adequately address these challenges, must shift away from “mechanism” – a rationalist worldview that historically has shaped higher education’s culture and practices – toward an integrative worldview and epistemology that will guide teaching and learning in the new millennium. Emergent pedagogies and student development theories …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: Factors Impacting The Decision To Study Abroad Among Students Who Have Expressed Intent, April H. Stroud

Doctoral Dissertations

Study abroad is recognized as a valuable and increasingly essential aspect of higher education in America. Yet, for all the positive attention and high-profile initiatives aimed at expanding participation, the percentage of U.S. undergraduate who studies abroad remains small. Developing a better understanding of the factors that contribute to or hinder study abroad participation is critical to expanding participation. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine factors that influence participation among students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who have expressed formal intent to study abroad. Specifically, this dissertation investigates who is more likely to study abroad and who …

Outreach Practices Of A Small College Counseling Center: A Comprehensive Model To Serve The College Community, Jessica R. Ferriero

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past 10 years college counseling centers (CCCs) have been urged to broaden their focus considerably and to serve the entire campus community due to increases in student mental health issues. Engaging in outreach efforts is one way to address campus wide needs. However, few research efforts have been conducted to systematically investigate how outreach is practiced at a small college. The dialogue around outreach has focused on single programs at large institutions rather than the network of interventions that occur on a campus. The purpose of this study is to understand the web of relationships between a counseling …

A Program Evaluation Of A Policy Intervention To Increase Racial Diversity In The Sciences And Engineering, Ricardo Leon Gomez Yepes

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is an evaluation of an intervention designed to (a) increase the number of minority students who pursue graduate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and (b) to develop a cadre of qualified individuals from minority backgrounds who, upon finishing their training, are ready to take positions as faculty members and mentors.

The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) is a program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a pathway from undergraduate to graduate school and to a career in the professoriate. AGEP is part of an effort by the U.S. …