Education Commons^™

Community College Discipline Faculty Perceptions Of Role As Literacy Educators, Kristen H. Gregory, Monique Colclough

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Approximately a quarter of community college students are entering college-level courses underprepared for the literacy and critical thinking skills required to be successful in discipline courses (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2013). Discipline faculty are considered experts in their content area and are often not trained in pedagogy and literacy instruction, yet they are faced with meeting the diverse literacy needs of their students while still maintaining high content-focused expectations within their courses. This phenomenological case study investigated community college discipline faculty’s perceptions and practices regarding integrating literacy instruction within their disciplines. Data were collected from community college faculty through …

Progress For Low Income Students, Johann Ducharme

The William & Mary Educational Review

This essay argues in favor of Mike Rose's assertion that funding cuts to education have a detrimental effect on numerous factors, including stunted job growth in America, not remaining innovative and competitive in global markets, as well as attaining the college graduation goals set by Department of Education. In agreeing with Rose, the author provides comprehensive reasoning and data from numerous national centers: Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, American Council on Education (ACE), The College Board, and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The author also examines the weaknesses of Rose’s arguments as he neglects to define …

Effective Teaching Techniques And Study Strategies For English Language Learners In Esl Community College Classes, Dorothy M. Steiner

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this field project, Effective Teaching Techniques and Study Strategies for English Language Learners in ESL Community College Classes, is to provide guidance to the busy instructors who work with adult ESL students, particularly in non-credit programs. This field project can also be used by instructors of credit community college ESL classes, Adult schools, or (Community Based Organizations) CBOs. The handbook is designed to be a resource on the many areas that present common challenges in the ESL classroom such as diverse needs, low literacy levels, building academic rigor and vocabulary, communicative language teaching, increasing engagement and …

A Qualitative Approach To Examining The Rules Of A Community College And Industry Partnership., Cara Dimattina-Ryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the governance structure of a successful community college and industry advisory board that collaborate to improve regional workforce development initiatives. The institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework was used as a lens to describe the partnership. The results determined that there were many informal rules that governed the relationship between the community college and industry partners, which led to successful implementation of decisions. The community college leaders created the informal rules with the purpose of encouraging involvement among industry stakeholders, sharing power among all the participants, and facilitating communication. The findings …

Predicting First-Year Mathematics Success At The Community College: Modifications On High School Grade Point Average And The Impact Of High School Quality, C. Caleb Marsh

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, student completion in the first-year college mathematics curriculum has become a significant barrier to student success and retention. Many states, such as North Carolina and Virginia, have been innovative in developing new strategies for placing students into an appropriate mathematics curriculum. A centerpiece of these strategies is to use student performance in high school, as measured by high school grade point average, as a predictor of course success and completion. However, in each system, what is largely absent from their placement models is an attempt to account for the quality of the institution that issued the …

"Can You Just Move The Curtain?": Stories Of Women From The Educational Underclass At The College Door, Janet Kaplan-Bucciarelli

Educational Studies Dissertations

Although millions of adults with a high school diploma or GED need and want to further their education by attaining a postsecondary credential, the majority do not succeed. It is widely known that marginalized adult learners arrive at college academically underprepared and that they face numerous barriers to participation once they enroll. But very few studies look at adults’ life experiences, assets, and perspectives on college before they enroll—when they are still “at the college door.”

This qualitative study explores the stories of ten women (ages 29-56) in pre-college transition classes in the Northeast US, and how their familial, school, …

English Learners’ Perspectives Of Teaching Methodologies In Community College Eap Classes, Lisa Walker

Graduate Education Student Scholarship

Community colleges provide a popular pathway for many English Language Learners (ELLs). Unfortunately, many of them struggle to pass through the multiple levels of non-credit bearing developmental course sequences in order to improve their academic use of English and thrive in post-secondary work. A qualitative look at perspectives of these English Learners on methodology may provide insight to ways that teachers could modify instruction to meet the diverse needs of students within community college English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. Findings suggest that more explicit teaching about language acquisition and the research-based methodologies that support it along with more consistent …

A Workforce Development Study To Explore Current Demand For Industry-Recognized Credentials, Debra Kay Smiley

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In this descriptive research study, I identified industry-recognized workforce credentials that are or will be in high demand by employers operating in Virginia. I surveyed a targeted group of Virginia workforce development stakeholders including 17 Virginia Community College System workforce development leaders who represent each local community college, 47 Virginia local and regional economic development directors, and 11 Virginia Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act directors. Due to the economic disparity between rural and urban areas, I also examined the contrast between high-demand credentials needed by employers in rural and urban areas.

The findings revealed that the top two industry-recognized credentials were …