Education Commons^™

The Recruitment And Retention Of High School Sport Officials In Minnesota: An Exploratory Analysis, Zack Qual

Master of Science in Kinesiology

The issue that this proposal study will address is the current officiating shortage for Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) sanctioned events. High school games are being rescheduled and at times canceled altogether due to the lack of available registered officials needed to ensure games are officiated correctly and with quality. In order to address this problem, the purpose of this proposed study will be to explore the types of interactions, both positive and negative, that registered MSHSL officials have had with players, coaches, and fans at events they have officiated. To gather the data, an online survey would be …

The Impact Of The Online Learner Advising Model On Retention And Grade Point Average, Julie Delich

Doctorate in Education

As more students experience online learning environments, the academic community must invest more energy into improving retention of these learners. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of an advising model designed to support online learners, the Online learner advising model (OLAM). This study examined new student retention in the first 3 terms and GPA outcomes to measure the impact of the advising approach. OLAM was designed to address the specific needs of online learners through bringing together elements of proactive advising, shame resilience theory, and appreciative advising.

The sample was selected from Concordia University, St. Paul …

Teacher Of Color Retention: Stories Of Staying From Teachers Of Color In A Suburban School District, Andrew Beard

Doctorate in Education

A teaching force which is representative of the student population is critical to creating equitable learning opportunities in the increasingly diverse United States. Both students of color and White students must see themselves represented in their teachers. Additionally, it is important for all students to see people of color as educators as well as in positions of power. Unfortunately, the proportion of teachers of color currently in the field of education does not come close to the proportion of students of color in public schools in the United States.

While there are many aspects which add to the problem of …

Factors Influencing Hmong College Students’ Persistence And Retention In Laos: A Case Study, Kou Xiong

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Student persistence and retention in higher education is a phenomenon that has been studied for years, yielding many theories and frameworks. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing the persistence and retention of Hmong college students in Laos. This study adopted a qualitative method with a single-case study design to explore the experiences of 10 Hmong students who were attending a university in the Lao’s People Democratic Republic (LPDR). Data for the study were collected via individual interviews and reflection journals. The findings of the study showed that there were seven emergent themes that influenced Hmong …

Code-Switching Among African American Male Faculty Regarding Recruitment, Advancement, And Retention At Predominantly White Institutions, Shatisha Hibbler

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The lack of diversity in leadership roles at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) of higher education has been a concern often addressed in the strategic plans at these institutions. Exploring how African American male faculty members perceive code-switching as a strategy to address this gap in representation was the purpose of this study. A qualitative research design was used to gain an understanding of how code-switching uses the structure of language to obtain access to advancement opportunities. Results from the study show that although African American men have varying views on how to use language within the workplace setting, the majority …

Perceptions Of Early Childhood Educators Who Left The Field: A Case Study, Tosca Grimm

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Early childhood education (ECE) educators’ roles in promoting the positive development of children are consistently deemed essential in research. Research also presents the severe problems of burnout and turnover in the ECE field. Specific factors such as low compensation, lack of professional development opportunities, and high-stress environments are causing continued rates of burnout across the early education arena, resulting in ECE educators leaving the field. Therefore, it is important to understand the reasons ECE educators are leaving so these challenges are recognized and remedied. A qualitative descriptive case study was used to examine the issue of ECE educator turnover due …

Professional Mentoring At A Christian Predominantly White Institution: Impacts On The Social Connections Of African American Students, Steve Taylor

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Private Christian universities with predominantly Caucasian student bodies have historically faced difficulty when attempting to become more diverse. Often these colleges’ student populations have mimicked that of the founding parent church, although many desire to broaden the student ethnic background. The purpose of this qualitative single case study research was to examine the impacts of mentoring by professional, full-time, university employees on African American students’ social connections. Positive, social connections improve student retention and satisfaction. This study was conducted at a single Christian PWI university in the Midwest. Data included personal interviews and a combined focus group with four African …

How Latino Male Students Perceive The Effects Of Social Engagement On Degree Completion, Gerardo Camacho Lewis

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Latino males are entering higher education at increasing rates, yet they are not graduating at the same rate as their peers. Latino males remain the smallest group to have a college degree, limiting opportunities for continuing education and obtaining gainful employment. The purpose of this study was to explore how Latino male university students perceive the effects of social engagement on degree completion. A hermeneutic, phenomenological approach was utilized enabling the study participants the opportunity to describe their experiences of the explored phenomenon and increase comprehension as to why they interpret their experiences in the manner that they do. Questionnaire …

The Current Training Practices And Perceived Training Needs Of Special Education Assistants In Texas, Carita J. Curry

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Special education assistants (SEAs) have been a vital source in the classroom since the early 1950s. When SEAs first began helping in the classroom, they were responsible for helping with clerical needs such as copying, filing, and data recording. However, those roles have evolved into more involved tasks well outside their job description and such as lesson planning and major delivery of classroom instruction. This phenomenological study delved into the training practices designed for SEAs in one Texas school district to determine if the current practices prepared SEAs to fulfil their state mandated job descriptions. The researcher also sought to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Factors Affecting The High Dropout Rate Of Nontraditional African American Students In Community College, Vernordra Haynie

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Nontraditional students comprise 75% of the higher education student population (Complete College America, 2011). These students maintain employment and care for their families while juggling the demands of college courses. Two-year colleges face challenges retaining nontraditional learners and more than 50% of nontraditional African American students fail to complete their associate degree (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2019). The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to identify factors affecting the degree completion of nontraditional African American students in a community college setting and to offer institutional recommendations to retain this population of students to graduation. The researcher utilized a …

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Academic Achievement Of School-Aged Learners, Paul Carlson

Graduate Teacher Education

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are part of ongoing discussions among educators identifying at-risk students in need of additional support for academic success. This paper explored the cross-sections of academic achievement and ACEs within academic settings. This study featured a literature review with qualitative and quantitative studies on ACEs and their relationship to chronic absenteeism, retention, dropout rates, behavioral problems, and academic achievement in the United States of America (USA). In addition, studies on trauma, resilience, and mental health are used to further explain academic achievement in relation to ACEs. The focus question of this study is: How do adverse childhood …

Impact Of New Teacher Induction On Beginning Teachers, Greta L. Scharp

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Teacher retention and its much more emphasized antithesis, attrition, affects the Federation of Affiliated Christian Churches (FACC) school system. The FACC created the New Teacher Induction (NTI) program after the New Teacher Center model for induction out of Santa Cruz, California to assist new teachers and increase retention rates in their school system. Mentoring, professional development opportunities, and principal engagement were the three-prongs of the NTI approach to teacher support which aimed at increasing new teacher self-efficacy. This qualitative case study examines new teacher perceptions of the NTI program, and its impact on their decisions to remain in or leave …

Retaining Special Education Teachers For Students Within The Juvenile Justice System, Kendra Byrd

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The number of juveniles with disabilities entering the juvenile justice system is growing at a rapid rate. Many juvenile justice facilities are unable to provide adequate special education services due to the nationwide shortage of special education teachers. This dissertation uses the theoretical framework of teacher efficacy to examine the correlation among the retention of special education teachers who serve students within the juvenile justice system and teacher efficacy, stress, support, workload stressors, and burnout. The participants of this study consisted of 155 special education teachers who currently or previously provided special education services to juveniles within the juvenile justice …

The Relationship Between Social Integration In Learning Community And Retention Of Freshmen Minority Students, Christopher A. Phekni

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This dissertation examined whether student social integration through participation in a learning community is associated with the retention of freshman minority students from the first semester to the second semester of their first year in college. A web-based Qualtrics survey questionnaire was administered through social media to the target population of freshmen aged at least 18 years old in learning communities across the United States. A correlational quantitative research design was utilized to address the research questions. The study examined whether retention between freshmen first and second semester relates to their social experiences in a learning community. In addition, this …

African-American Males, Part-Time Work, And Persistence, Ami M. Tripp

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The central research question for this study asked how do African-American males perceive working part-time, while enrolled full-time, to have an impact on their persistence? A secondary question asked, what factors influenced African-American male students to persist through graduation? The participants comprised of 35 African-American male college students who graduated Spring 2016. This study was focused on part-time employment and its support of persistence for African-American men. Hence, persistence theory was the most pertinent lens through which to view the literature and the data collected in this study. This study employed a case study research, as it is an empirical …

Elementary Title I Teachers Perception Of Stress, Burnout And The Impact On Retention, Kelly Thompson

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of stress due to their job, and if this had an influence on retention. The study concentrated on teacher’s perceptions on stress, teacher retention along with their views on coping strategies to handle or prevent stress. The conceptual framework for this study was the transactional model of stress theory by Lazarus and Folkman, which provided a better understanding of demands in education and the resources provided to teachers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of stress due to their job and if …

Bridging The Gap: A Phenomenological Study Of Interpersonal Relationships To Foster Campus Community Among Nontraditional College Students, Ashvindar K. Singh

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate if the interpersonal relationships among nontraditional college students with each other, faculty, and staff play a role in fostering a sense of campus community at a private career and technical education junior college. Furthermore, the connection between a sense of campus community and students feeling a sense of belonging, increase their self-esteem, and achieving self-actualization as Maslow defined it was explored. In addition, the students reporting feeling a sense of community at a private career and technical education junior college and its relationship to motivating students to attend classes and complete …

Online Orientation: An Investigation Of Its Effect On Graduate Students’ First-Course Retention, Lisa S. Fee

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This mixed-methods study targeted one semester of 428 graduate-level students in the fall of 2016 who completed, or did not complete the five quizzes in a non-mandatory, online orientation to determine the impact of the orientation from enrollment through first-course retention. From the total population of 428 graduate-level students’ contact information, 53 students were not found in any orientation, but were listed as completing their first course, and were removed, resulting in 375 students who received a weekly email over a five-week period with a link to voluntarily participate in the study. This resulted in a convenience sample of 108 …

Freshman Student Perception Of Institutional Engagement Strategies, Donald J. Comi

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Technology, socio-economic disparities, and an increasingly diverse population base have changed the nature of American communities and thus the educational and occupational landscape. Access to higher education is functionally the gatekeeper for technical and professional careers. The gap between the number of students starting a four-year degree and the number completing a degree is discouraging. As a student transitions to college, many factors influence personal resiliency. Familial support, pre-college preparation, peer-to-peer relationships, and institutional connection all influence a student’s resiliency. However, higher education’s traditional engagement and transitional programming does not always engender connection nor promote academic success. This qualitative case …

Merit Pay, Teacher Job Satisfaction, And Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study, Desiree R. Hall

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Teacher attrition is a costly issue for districts in the United States. Few studies closely examine the link between merit pay, teacher retention, and job satisfaction; however, merit pay is one strategy districts can use to increase teacher job satisfaction and retention. This mixed-method study measured teacher perspectives of merit pay in relation to job satisfaction and retention in order to provide essential feedback to stakeholders for future financial and strategic planning. 353 teachers in a district located in the southwestern United States were targeted for this study. Of those 353 teachers, 235 participants responded to the survey. After analyzing …

Institutional Racism Through The Eyes Of African American Male Faculty At Community Colleges In The Pacific Northwest, Kimberly Harden

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the lived experiences of African American male faculty at community colleges in the Pacific Northwest. Regional data mirrors national statistics denoting the low number of faculty of color working at state-funded community colleges. The literature reviewed for this study suggests that African American male faculty experience racism and gender bias during their academic career journeys. This study sought insight from five African American male faculty to answer the overarching research question: What are the possible perceived institutional barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of African American male faculty? These individuals were …