Education Commons^™

Ncaa Division I Head Softball Coaches' Confidence, Openness And Stigma Tolerance Toward Sport Psychology Consultants, Laurie Ann Neelis

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method to look at NCAA division I head softball coaches confidence, openness, and stigma tolerance about sport psychology principles and consultants, as well as what sport psychology principles, time of year used, and what a Sport Psychology Consultant (SPC) can do to help division I head softball coaches have more success with their teams. These variables were measured through the use of the Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised Coaches instrument developed by Zakrajsek and Zizzi (2007). For the qualitative component, the researcher developed five inquiries that allowed for a more in-depth response from the coaches concerning …

Post-Disaster Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On Significantly Affected College Students Compared To Moderately Affected College Students, Charles Thomas Coleman

Dissertations

This quantitative study used independent t tests to explore the level of significance with four dependent variables of educational effects (grades), financial impact (monetary hardship), physiological effects (aches, pains, or injury), and psychological effects (mental stability or illness) related to significantly affected students and moderately affected students of post- Hurricane Katrina. To determine if there was a significant difference between moderately affected students compared to significantly affected students, a questionnaire specific to the dependent variables was administered to The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) students.

Data gathered in this study suggested the greatest significant difference among significantly affected students and …

Knowledge Of Pain Management In Older Adults As A Content Area For Continuing Professional Education For Licensed Nurses, Wanda Cleveland Dubuisson

Dissertations

The research of the last 30 years has revealed the inadequacy of pain management in the older adult. Although evidenced-based clinical practice guidelines exist to direct the management of pain in the older adult, health care providers are either unaware or lack the proper understanding of the guidelines. This study investigated the differences in knowledge of pain management in older adults when examining licensed acute care nurses and extended care nurses. It sampled 118 acute care nurses working in two hospitals in Mississippi and 78 extended care nurses working in six extended care facilities (ECF) in Mississippi.

Based upon the …

Factors Related To Nonacademic Adjustment Of Freshmen Students, Nykela Horne Jackson

Dissertations

Student retention remains a major concern of higher education institutions. With decreasing state funding, higher education institutions have implemented creative strategies and methods to recruit students. Once students are recruited it is critical that they be retained. Research has confirmed that student withdrawals can be attributed to the lack of successful transition and adjustment to the college environment. Numerous studies have focused on how demographic factors (socioeconomic status, race, employment, and parental education level) affect retention with the major focus on academic adjustment. Current research has shown that nonacademic adjustment (social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and institutional attachment) plays a significant …

The Influence Of Career-Technical Student Organizations On Non-Traditional And Traditional Community College Students, Suzanne Lee Johnson

Dissertations

Student organizations have been contributing to adult education for years. The need to recruit non-traditional students and retain them is very important to the financial support of the career and technical program. If a career-technical student organization (CTSO) can encourage retention and completion of traditional and non-traditional students in a field of study, the state might realize the need to increase the funding provided to the advisers/instructors of the CTSO and the financial support of the CTSO. This study investigated what motivates a student to become an active member in a CTSO and to what extent the CTSO contributed to …

First-First Year Academically Underprepared Students' Judgments Of Their Perceived Academic Advising Needs And Preferences And Their Level Of Satisfaction And Intention To Persist At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Jennifer Lorean Ducksworth

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine which of the two dominant advising approaches, prescriptive (advisor focused) or developmental (relational focused), academically underprepared students preferred and to determine if this student population's advising relationships, experiences, and activities contribute to their level of satisfaction and their intent to persist at the participating university the following semester.

To read the full abstract of this dissertation, please click on "download" in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

Online Delivery At Traditional Institutions: Faculty Concerns And Knowledge About Intellectual Property Rights, La Toya Monique Hart

Dissertations

This study was designed to provide information to administrators about concerns faculty might have with online delivery and to assess their overall knowledge about intellectual property rights at traditional institutions. Faculty from the eight institutions under the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning were invited to participate in the study regardless of whether they participate in online delivery or not. The results of this study will allow administrators and faculty an opportunity to address concerns and explore putting written policies.

Faculty reported low levels of concerns about legal issues and rewards. Of greatest concern were those issues regarding workload/effort where there …

The Influence Of Verbal Aggressiveness And Verbal Argumentativeness On College Student Leadership Styles, Jane Anne Mattina

Dissertations

The behaviors and styles of leaders have been studied for many years yet, the study of college study leaders has not been as prevalent. This study examined the possible relationships between the levels of verbal aggressiveness and verbal argumentativeness and college student leadership styles as described by the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (Kouzes & Posner 1995).

Using quantitative and qualitative approaches with multiple college student leadership groups at three different universities and community colleges, this study found that college student leaders are less verbally aggressive than student non-leaders, and are more verbally argumentative than student non-leaders. Furthermore, positive and negative …

Factors Associated With Attitudes Toward Learning In An Online Environment: Transactional Distance, Technical Efficacy, And Physical Surroundings, Jodi Elizabeth Pettazzoni

Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between a student's environment in an online course and their academic achievement. This study surveyed students who completed world literature classes in an online format that were part of their universities' general education curricula. Students responded to items assessing several constructs and personal demographic variables that together defined their learning environments: content, delivery, assessment and feedback, technical support, learner experience with technology, learner experience with distance learning, interaction, physical space, support network, characteristics of adult learners, and major. Academic achievement was the dependent variable and was defined as anticipated grade in the course. Using Spearman …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

Perceived Attitude Towards Feedback In Athletic Training Clinical Education, Jessica Lynn Emlich

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceived mean attitudinal score towards clinical instructor feedback, of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited athletic training education programs (ATEP) program directors/clinical coordinators and affiliated clinical instructors. Additionally, the investigator was interested to see if relationships between attitudes towards feedback and the respondent's age, sex, employment setting and years of professional experience existed.

There were a total of one hundred and fifty eight participants in this study that comprised the two groups. Program directors and clinical coordinators (PD/CC) comprised 59 of the responses and 99 were …

Defining Acquaintance Rape: College Students' Perceptions Of Sexual Consent And Coercion, Sara Elizabeth Buck Doude

Dissertations

Perceptions of rape have evolved dramatically over the past decade. Prior to the second wave of the feminist movement, rape was perceived to be committed by a psychotic man against a woman. The feminist movement brought the term "acquaintance rape" into the popular lexicon and into the forefront of women's consciousness. As a result, throughout the 1970s and 1980s state governments enacted laws to prohibit "sexual assault," or expanded existing rape laws to include a variety of relationships or sexual acts. However, public perceptions of rape did not evolve as rapidly. Despite legislative efforts, there is no universally understood definition …

Support Systems, Isolation, And Intended Persistence In Doctoral Education, Casey Nicole Cockrell

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of formal academic support systems and stage of doctoral study on persistence, satisfaction, and knowledge of resources, expectations, and customs in doctoral education. Part-time and full-time doctoral students (N=141) enrolled in four public institutions in a southeastern state during the spring and summer semesters of 2007 were surveyed.

An online questionnaire, adapted from the 1999 Survey on Doctoral Education (Golde & Dore, 2001), was used to survey participants. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed to define the variables. A MANOVA was performed to determine if any differences existed between formal academic support system …

Emotional Intelligence As A Non-Traditional Predictor Of College Student Retention And Graduation, Larry Austin Sparkman

Dissertations

Universities are looking for new predictors of student retention and graduation. Based on the findings of this study, emotional intelligence is a predictor of student retention and performance over time. A survey of 783 traditional college students was conducted using the Bar-On EQ-i:125 prior to initial enrollment for the fall semester 2002 at a particular university in the southeastern United States. At the conclusion of spring semester 2007, data were collected which included enrollment status, graduation status, and cumulative college grade point average. Relationships between the 15 subscales of emotional intelligence as defined by the Bar-On EQ-i:125 (self-regard, emotional self-awareness, …

The Associated Colleges Of The South: A Case Study Chronicling Program Development At The Consortium And The Significance Of Consortium Membership Through The Experiences Of Presidents Of Member Institutions, Todd Spencer Rose

Dissertations

The Associated Colleges of the South is a consortium of liberal arts colleges founded in 1991. The consortium serves as a third-party agency to further the collective interests of the member institutions. Since its founding in 1991 and original membership of nine institutions, the consortium has grown to 16 member institutions. This research reviews literature relevant to the history and organization of voluntary consortia in the United States, the history of liberal arts colleges and the challenges that are faced by these institutions, and recent technology and how it affects higher education. In addition, the history of the consortia and …