Education Commons^™

“In The University But Not Of The University”: Examining Institutionalized Counterspaces Through A Staff Perspective, Omar A. Ramirez

Master's Theses

Using a qualitative case study, this thesis examines a university counterspace that serves Students of Color through the perspective of the staff who work in that space. The case study aimed to explore four areas of investigation: the interviewees’ knowledge and perceptions of 1) the history of their counterspace; 2) the purpose of their counterspace; 3) the benefits of their counterspace; and 4) challenges of their counterspace. The counterspace was a program within a large, 4-year, public, R-1 research university. Five staff from the counterspace were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the data suggests that students were an essential part …

The Relationship Between Department Chairs’ Leadership Style And Faculty Members’ Job Satisfaction In The College Of Education At King Saud University In Saudi Arabia, Reem Alsunaydi

Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative, correlation study explored the leadership styles of the department chairs in the College of Education at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as perceived by the full-time faculty members. This exploration was used to examine the relationship between leadership styles and faculty’s overall job satisfaction, and to determine to what extent these leadership styles predicted the faculty’s overall job satisfaction. The theoretical framework for this study was the Full Range Leadership theory, which consists of three leadership styles and considered the independent variables for the study: transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership. The dependent variable for the study …

Promoting Higher Education, Sandra Estrada

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Learning For Life Charter School is an alternative school that serves at-risk students. Due to challenges these students face, it is difficult for them to graduate and pursue higher education. Higher education can provide students with many opportunities. Financial issues, low motivation, and even lack of awareness of the multiple college opportunities available contribute to students failing to attempt or complete higher education. This leads to consequences including less opportunities in the future, lower lifetime earnings, and long-term health effects. In order to support and encourage the Learning For Life Charter School students to pursue higher education, educational workshops were …

Curriculum Design And Instructional Practices : A Case Study Use Of Theory In Accelerated Adult Learning Programs, Lorraine V. Beach

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This is a qualitative case study that examined four institutions of higher education in New York to assess how well they have done at implementing a quality standard established by the Commission on Accelerated Programs (CAP) in 2011 and 2019 calling for accelerated adult programs to incorporate adult learning theory within their curricula and instructional practices. Data collection consisted of interviews with faculty and staff, documentation reviews, and classroom observations. Through iterative case review processes, the author used this data to: a) clarify organizational policy and practices at each of the colleges/universities; and then b) to identify the impact of …

Predictors Of Student Success In An Upper Division Agriculture Chemistry Class, Maddison V. May

MSU Graduate Theses

To attempt to find what made students successful within a higher division class at Missouri State University’s (MSU) Darr College of Agriculture, de-identified academic records of 172 students enrolled in AGR 300 - Food and Agriculture Chemistry were studied over four semesters. Deidentified data were collected and compared to final letter grade received at the end of the class using correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, and stepwise regression. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate the influence of semester on letter grade. Correlation coefficients were used to determine and evaluate relationships between the variables and final grade. Stepwise regression was …

Academic Leaders And The Regulatory Orientation: New And Improved!, Annmarie Munana

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

The purpose of this article is to describe the challenges and regulatory knowledge gaps present in academic nursing leaders, explore orientation as an evidence-based approach to support leadership transition, recommend guiding frameworks, and report on the usefulness of orientations to facilitate academic regulatory compliance knowledge.

During this time of yet another nursing shortage, and considering the aging population and nursing workforce, professional organizations and nurse leaders strive to develop innovative solutions to attract individuals to nursing. The shortage is also present amongst the ranks of nursing faculty and academic nurse leaders and the profession needs strong leaders at the helm …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Professional Development On Accessibility To Online Courses By Students With Special Needs At A Regional Four-Year Public Institution Of Higher Education In West Texas, Dallas Anne Swafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation research, including qualitative and quantitative data, was used in this study to determine the impact of professional development on online courses’ accessibility by students with disabilities. The study focused on online courses and course content. Data collection took place in phases and included self-paced, online professional development and one-on-one support sessions, a pre- and postsurvey, and a focus group interview. The study took place at a regional 4-year public institution of higher education in West Texas. Change theory emerged as the primary theoretical lens guiding the research as the study unfolded.

Helicopter Parenting In Higher Education: A Content Analysis Of Parental Involvement As Discussed In The Media, Amanda Mclaughlin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Scholars and practitioners have differing views as well as definitions on overparenting at the college level, which has led to confusion in both the scholarly literature and news media coverage of the topic. The topic has become so popular in conversation that national news sources have covered it extensively, potentially influencing the priorities of policy makers and the formation of public opinion. Without a better understanding of the specific behavioral indicators of overparenting, it is unclear whether the phenomenon truly exists, and if so, what are its characteristics? Understanding how various groups in society have defined overparenting is an important …

Practicing What They Preach: A Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Instructional Designers As Educators Of An Online Teaching Certificate Program, David Uibelhoer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The rapid integration of online education has led to faculty challenges in teaching online. Research shows that faculty online professional development that focuses on pedagogical inquiry can lead to better teaching of online courses. This qualitative case study was conducted to explore the experiences of a team of eight instructional designers who developed a four-course online teaching certificate program at a large public research university. In addition, this study sought to better understand how instructional designers describe university support for leading this faculty online professional development initiative and determine whether their expertise in online pedagogy can lead to improved online …

Identifying The Unique Characteristics Of First-Generation College Students Whose Parents Never Attended College, Reena Patel

Theses and Dissertations

In this descriptive study, I examined data from the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennial Scholars Cohort 3 Longitudinal Survey which comprised of high- achieving, low-income and historically marginalized college students, to compare students whose parents never attended college (“True” FCGS) to students whose parents attended but did not graduate along five variables: academic preparation, academic transition, academic and social integration, and academic outcome patterns. This study addressed a significant void in prior research with respect to the need for a clearly established FGCS definition. Bourdieu’s social and cultural capital framework is the theoretical foundation for this study because his theory …

The Impact Of Work Alienation On The Relationship Between Person-Organization Fit And Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Higher Education, Andrew R. Krouse

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions are an established system for individual development and knowledge transfer. Recently, this system has come under pressure to implement additional oversight practices previously associated with business. These business practices, including centralization, are recognized as sources that include elements of work alienation (WA). This study investigated the impact of WA on the relationship between person-organization fit (POF) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and sought to determine if a statistically significant relationship existed between these constructs. Qualtrics®, an online survey tool, was used to collect the data for this study, and IBM® SPSS® Amos 25.0 was used to perform …

A Study Of Social And Cultural Capital In Graduation For African American Students In Four-Year Colleges, Andrew Oni

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The prevalence of the persistent low graduation rate among African American students in four-year colleges gave rise to the examination of the role of social and cultural capital in improving graduation for African American students. This study examines the role played by the relationship between social and cultural capital and other factors for African American students’ graduation. Guided by social and cultural capital as the theoretical framework which presents social and cultural capital as acquired by parents’ and students' social networks and cultural endowment and tenets. These two levels of social and cultural capital are available for students to utilize …

First-Gen Mental Health: The Experiences Of First-Generation Graduate Students At The University Of San Diego, Edith Mendez

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

Higher education professionals can better support struggling students by having more of an awareness of their experiences and how their mental health is related to the identities they hold. As a first-generation Latina college student, I am reminded of my own experiences and struggles, which impacted my sense of belonging and academic success. My action research responds to the question: "What are the mental health concerns that first-generation students studying at the University of San Diego (USD) encounter?" After making changes to my research because of unforeseen circumstances, I designed a study focusing on graduate students with cycles consisting of …

The Journey To Antiracism: White Identity Development For White Faculty Members At Predominantly White Higher Education Institutions, Morgan Harthorne

Master's Projects and Capstones

Students of color experience feelings of isolation, exhaustion, and tokenization in predominantly white higher education spaces (Smith, Yosso, Solorzano, 2006). Specifically, students of color feel ostracized and tokenized in the classroom. This experience contributes to an overall culture of Whiteness within higher education and leads to the lack of engagement and belonging of students of color. It also supports the systems of racism and White supremacy within the academy. This field project analyzes the experiences of students of color and provides a series of seven workshops for White faculty to begin their journey toward antiracism in the classroom. This field …

Civic Engagement Amid Civil Unrest: Haitian Social Scientists Working At Home, Nadège Nau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unlike many of the autoethnographic accounts in world anthropologies discourse, this study employs critical educational ethnography to both address the geopolitics of Haitian anthropology while also spotlighting an understudied group: university faculty. This study addresses: What are the conditions of academic labor for anthropology professors working in Haiti? Moreover, what is the price of being an anthropology professor at the School of Ethnology at the State University of Haiti (UEH), and how do professors add meaningful value to their labor through sacrifice, ingenuity, and civic engagement? Despite professors’ work-related challenges and Haiti’s severe “brain drain” levels, for many professors, their …

Examining The Relationship Between Cognitive Selection Criteria For Admission And Noncognitive Performance Outcomes In A Professional Graduate Degree Program, Rosalie Maiorella

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The admission processes in higher education have been the topic of considerable discussion and study at all levels of the institution from undergraduate to graduate and professional education. This study focused on graduate students who completed their master’s degree in Counseling and School Counseling from 2010 to 2018. Students completed their degree fully online and from a distance. The goal was to determine if admission criteria were predictive of end of program clinical fieldwork evaluations. Independent variables looked at were Undergraduate GPA (UGPA); GRE: (V)erbal, (Q)uantitative, and (W)riting; First Semester Graduate GPA (GPA1), and Cumulative Graduate GPA (GPAEP). End of …

Autoethnography: A Self Reflection Of The Benefits In Attending A T-Stem High School, Adriana Garza

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnography is to analyze the benefits I obtained as a bilingual, first-generation, Hispanic student by attending a STEM high school. PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School provides an Early College experience as well as a Bilingual STEM environment in a district located at La Frontera. This autoethnography uses two techniques to collect data: artifacts and reflective journals. As the researcher, I self-reflected and analyzed my own success story which will be viewed through a Narrative Inquiry lens to answer two questions 1) to what extent has the STEM model/ curriculum influenced my academic …

An Integrated Developmental Model And Measure Of Intercultural Competence, Natasha S. Dumerville

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study presents a synthesized model of intercultural competence, the Integrated Developmental Model of Intercultural Competence (IDMIC), based on six existing constructs and models of intercultural competence commonly used in postsecondary education. The IDMIC Index is a scenario-based instrument designed to measure intercultural competence as depicted by the developmental model. Undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed during the Spring 2019 semester. Data was collected and analyzed using quantitative techniques. Results of data analyses did not provide evidence to support the hypothesized unidimensional structure of the IDMIC Index; however, there was evidence to support the measurement reliability and validity of the …

Change Management, Quality Assurance And Race: Advancing Race-Based Equity In Canadian Higher Education By Leveraging Established Institutional Mechanisms, Nadia Mallay

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Higher education in Canada has been well regarded for decades. Academically rigorous programs and institutions graduate strong students while also attracting top local and global talent as employees to their institutional communities. However, the field of Critical Race Theory, among others, explicates that higher education institutions are not equitable for all bodies. Individuals with intersectionalities inclusive of the Black Diaspora continue to be excluded from academic success and success as employee stakeholders in higher education institutions. Critically, Black bodies continue to struggle with entry to higher education and means to economic success post-graduation, as well as lack of inclusivity to …

Determinants Of Student Information Technology Adoption, Hans P. Vanderschaaf

Dissertations and Theses

Innovating service delivery in higher education is central to supporting institutional and societal goals of increasing the numbers of college graduates and for transforming higher education institutions to center on the needs of today's students. Within this context, technology plays a critical role. This research seeks to contribute to institutional, academic and educational technology sector efforts to dramatically enhance service quality, in support of improving undergraduate student outcomes (student success), by identifying the determinants of student information technology adoption and removing barriers to accessing higher education.

Using a mixed-methods and empirical approach based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and …

Paving The Way: Enhancing The Transfer Admission Practices At The University Of San Diego, Andrew Alsoraimi-Espiritu

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine how the University of San Diego’s (USD) Office of Undergraduate Admission can better serve prospective students from local community colleges by striving towards a Transfer Receptive Culture (Jain, Herrera, Bernal, & Solórzano, 2011). Using my positionality as an admissions counselor at USD, I explored the following question with current and prospective transfer students, as well as local community college partners: how can I enhance the practices of my department to better support transfer students during the pretransfer phase at USD? My findings indicate that the transfer path to USD is hectic and …

Strengthening Academic Leadership Practices In A Regionally Dispersed Multi-Campus College In Canada: A Collective Approach To Leadership, Diane N. Sénécal

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Postsecondary institutions are expected to respond to constantly changing and varying interests and needs of businesses, communities and students. An increasing number of postsecondary institutions now offer multiple programs and services to respond to this new reality, expanding their activities outside of traditional education, through research, community partnerships or corporate training opportunities. As a result, many now have multiple campuses and departments to support this new reality.

This Organizational Improvement Plan explores one regionally dispersed multi-campus college, College X, in the context of academic program delivery across campuses. It focuses on the challenges of alignment and coherence in program delivery …

Temporal Discounting And The Assessment And Treatment Of Academic Procrastination, Anthony Concepcion

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many individuals engage in procrastination at some point in their lifetime. Although procrastination is usually not detrimental, for college students, academic procrastination is correlated with adverse health effects (e.g., anxiety, depression, sleep hygiene) and poor academic performance (Akinsola, et al., 2007; Ferrari, et al., 1995). Furthermore, the prevalence of academic procrastination is high with reports of up to 95% of college students engaging in detrimental amounts of procrastination (Hussain & Sultan, 2010). Notably, students enrolled in online courses are likely to be at greater risk to experience adverse consequences associated with procrastination (Elvers, et al, 2003). Previous studies have focused …

A Policy Analysis Of Performance-Based Funding In The State University System Of Florida, Monika Alesnik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Performance-based funding in the State University System of Florida is the principle legislative based funding method for the states 12 public universities. The system and the policy is governed by the Florida Board of Governors. However, Florida’s legislative branch has ultimate authority in regards to the policy. There is a gap of knowledge on the critical factors which led to the development, implementation and adoption of this policy. Data were collected using primary and secondary document analysis as well as through interviews with individuals in the following groups: elected officials, higher education leaders, staff, financial or policy influencers and other …

Job Satisfaction Among Faculty Members At Cccu Institutions, Heather C. Vaccaro

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether any significant differences existed between generational cohorts, gender and employment status, and reported levels of job satisfaction among faculty at institutions within the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). This study aimed to influence institutional objectives and values to make any necessary adjustments in the attraction and retention of faculty members. The Academic Setting Evaluation Questionnaire (ASEQ) was used to survey participants. The data suggested factors that impact job satisfaction among faculty members within CCCU institutions are not those related to generational cohort, gender, or employment status. This study …

Examining How White College Women Make Meaning Of Their Identities And Experiences After Studying Abroad In A Non-European Country, Damaris Renee Crocker De Ruiter

Masters Theses

One of the many ways higher education institutions attempt to provide students with an opportunity to examine conflicting identities is through study abroad experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore how White college women make meaning of their privileged and oppressed identities after returning from studying abroad in a non-European country. It focused specifically on issues related to their gender identity, racial identity, and their nationality. This qualitative study was rooted in grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014). The theoretical frameworks guiding this study were the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI) (Jones & McEwen, 2000; Abes, Jones, & …

Mission Adrift: The Impact Of Managerialism On Graduate Social Work Education, Carolyn Hanesworth

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Neoliberal policies have led to the installation of managerialism, or the application of business practices and principles in institutions of higher education. Although much is known about the impact of managerialism on faculty in the overall academy, very little is known about its impact in specific disciplines, particularly in the United States. Using semi-structured interviews, this dissertation investigates how social work faculty experience and negotiate managerialism in the traditional pillars of teaching, service, and scholarship.

This study found that managerialism leads universities to place new and increased demands for productivity, efficiency, and accountability on social work faculty. Respondents report major …

Maryland’S Historically Black Institutions: In Pursuit Of Equity In Higher Education, Maureen Samedy-Cooke

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2013, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Maryland ruled in The Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education et al. v. Maryland Higher Education Commission et al., that through the practice of offering duplicative academic programs at Maryland’s Historically Black Institutions (HBIs) and their Traditionally White Institutions (TWIs), Maryland has practices in place that perpetuate a segregated higher education system, a violation of the United States Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This dissertation examines the effect of duplicative academic programs on racial enrollment in Maryland’s Historically Black Institutions. The study draws …

Validating And Culturally Responsive Pedagogies: Examining The Effects Of First-Year Seminar Course Redesign At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Joanna M. Oxendine

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A substantial amount of research exists regarding the efficacy of first-year seminar courses (FYSC); unfortunately, most existing FYSC research has been undertaken at predominantly white institutions and has tended to present college-going and the transition to college within the dominant narrative. Where addressed at all, the efficacy of FYSC’s for students of color has typically been framed via a deficit model lens and has not taken into account certain pedagogies known to better support Latinx, African-American, or other minoritized students. Led by the overarching purpose of exploring how intentionally incorporating culturally relevant and critical pedagogies in first-year seminars might be …

Toward The Integration Of Student Advising At A Canadian Higher Education Institution, Lara Ubaldi

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses a problem of practice concerning the fragmented state of student advising at a large, urban higher education institution (HEI). Aligned with the sample university’s overarching organizational goal to advance a more student-centred approach, the OIP aims to foster intersections across a specialized model of student advising service provision to better meet the needs of a diverse, 21st century student population. In addition, the OIP responds to environmental realities in which increasing accountabilities, compounded by the rapid pace and growing pervasiveness of reactive change, require building internal capacity for ongoing, continuous adaptation (Lichtenstein et al., …