Higher Education Commons^™

Classifying Facial Expressions Of Students Being Tutored In A Gateway College Math Course, Kriss Gabourel

Doctoral Dissertations

When it comes to tutoring, computers have not quite been able to achieve the success that humans have in helping students improve learning outcomes. This research sought to address one aspect of what makes human tutors more effective, the ability to identify and to interpret facial expressions. When a student is feeling anxious, confused, distracted or frustrated, or when a student has an ‘aha’ moment, human tutors can identify the student’s facial expressions and adjust their tutoring approach as necessary. This study sought to determine if, in the context of a gateway college math course, these particular learning-centered affects could …

End Of The Road: A Case Study Of An Hbcu Upward Bound Program That Lost Its Funding, Kimberly R. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates the factors leading to the loss of funding and subsequent closure of a long-standing Upward Bound program at Fortitude University, a Historically Black University. As one of the original federally funded Upward Bound programs established in 1964, this program played a crucial role in bridging the opportunity gap for many students in the city where this program was located, encouraging high school completion and college readiness. Despite its historical significance and impact, the program faced an abrupt end in the summer of 2017. Employing general qualitative research methods, the study draws on interviews with former Upward Bound …

Experiences With Student Loan Debt: A Phenomenological Study Of First-Generation, Low-Income College Graduates, Sarah Leigh Gardner Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

First-generation and low-income (FGLI) individuals currently represent a large percentage of the total undergraduate student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities. Student loan debt in the United States is also at an all-time high with approximately 43 million Americans sharing the $1.75 trillion total. Because FGLI individuals, like many other college students, often take on large amounts of student loan debt to successfully graduate college, it is worth learning more about the long-term effects that student loan debt has on the experiences of FGLI college graduates within the first ten years of graduating with a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of …

Counselor Influences On College Decision Making, Jordan Mccarter

Doctoral Dissertations

Although numerous studies have been devoted to understanding the role of the counselor in schools, few studies have been conducted to understand the specific influence that counselors have on girls throughout their college admissions process (Bryan, Farmer-Hinton, Rawls, & Woods, 2017; Bryan, Holcomb-McCoy, Moore-Thomas, & Day-Vines, 2009; Bryan, Moore‐Thomas, Day‐Vines, & Holcomb‐McCoy, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions between girls and their high school college admissions counselors and the resources and programmatic offerings of the college counseling office that girls experience. Perna’s (2006) proposed conceptual model of college student choice served …

Reconciling Self-Censorship: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of University Staff And Administrators, Leigh C. Morales

Doctoral Dissertations

In addition to a global pandemic, the past three years have been marked by racial, social, and political unrest. These circumstances add meaningful context to examine and better understand factors that undermine free expression and contribute to self-censorship among university staff and administrators. To date, few studies have holistically explored the unique experiences of university staff and administrators with self-censorship and how this phenomenon affects their experience on college and university campuses. Understanding why staff and administrators choose to self-censor may allow for a deeper discussion about speech climate and the degree to which colleges and universities implement and uphold …

The Devil Did Not Make Me Do It: Understanding Factors That Influence College Choice Of A Faith-Based Institution, Phillip Lowell Cook Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

The process of choosing a college can be quite difficult for high school students and their families. If the student considers issues of faith in this process, it can cause additional complexity. While researchers have examined many factors that influence the college selection process (Baliyan, 2016; Espinosa, Bradshaw & Hausman, 2000; Noel-Levitz, 2012; Nurnberg, Schapiro, & Zimmerman, 2012; Perez, 2008; Tucciarone, 2007), there is little research that focuses on the factors that influence the selection of a faith-based institution. Research shows the factors that affect this process are varied and include the influence of parents (MacCallum, Glover, Queen, & Riggs, …

Deaccessioning Relationships: The Role Of Academic Museums In Modern Postsecondary Education, Jeffrey Martin Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to examine the role of academic museums in modern American postsecondary education. This research examined the relationships developed by academic museums in support of the mission of their parent institutions with special attention to the impact of the sale of donated objects from the museum collection for the purpose of relief from financial exigency. The study included document review, interviews, and reflexive notes.

The four thematic findings of this exploratory study depict an academic museum as a complex entity within its parent institution that has inward-facing and outward-facing components which support the …

Exploring Student Engagement For Diverse Student Populations: A Case Study Examining Institutional Logics Of Student Affairs Middle Management Leaders, Frangelo Rominque Ayran

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the institutional logics that student affairs middle managers employ to facilitate student engagement programs and resources intended for more diverse student populations. While the positive effects of student involvement and student engagement are both widely documented, disparities between White students and students of color in their rates of engagement continue to illustrate that the effects of student engagement opportunities as forms of high impact practices are dependent upon the racial and ethnic background of students. Higher education institutions faced with the widening divide between low-income students of color in their retention, degree attainment, and engagement rates not …

Higher Education Discourses Of India’S National Education Policy 2020: Analysis And Teacher Counterspaces In Jesuit Institutions, Vincent Pereppadan Poulose

Doctoral Dissertations

Postcolonial India where diversities, tensions, and conflicts caused by social and economic hierarchies, political and religious divisions, cultural variations exist, higher education is expected to play a significant role in building up a harmonious and humane democracy founded on justice to all, especially to the minority communities. Therefore, to examine how the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisioned higher education and how it is felt among the stakeholders of a minority, this study attempted to analyze its higher education discourses and the responses of Indian Jesuit higher education faculty members. For analysis, this study employed the discourse historical analysis (DHA) …

An Analysis Of Personality Characteristics, Emotional Intelligence, And Leadership Attributes Of Louisiana Community And Technical College Chancellors, Heather Spillers Poole

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the personality characteristics, emotional intelligence, and leadership attributes of twelve Louisiana community college chancellors in order to better understand leadership selection in community and technical colleges. Hogan’s Leadership Forecast Series and the self-reported Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire short-form were used to explore and describe the leadership qualities of chancellors. More specifically, the Hogan Leadership Forecast Series of assessments included the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MPVI), Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), and Hogan Development Survey (HDS). Assessments were administered in May 2018. Findings indicated that, in general, chancellors varied widely in their personality characteristics (including both potential “bright-side” and “dark-side” …

An Examination Of Efficacy And Resilience In College Students: Influences On Socially Responsible Leadership, Paula Berry Atkins

Doctoral Dissertations

My study explored socially responsible leadership and its relationship to leader efficacy and resilience in college students. The investigation also examined the role of gender and race in these relationships. The study employed the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL), which assesses student and educational outcomes relevant to the values underlying the Social Change Model of Student Leadership. The MSL utilizes the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (Tyree, 1998) as a foundation but also includes measures of leader efficacy and resilience. Utilizing archival data from the 2015 administration of the MSL, my sample (N=840) included equal numbers of males and females equally …

Development Of A Teacher Dispositions Framework, Traci Johnston Walker

Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluating a person’s dispositions is complex and problematic, considering the affective nature of these invisible traits (Diez, 2006; Wilkerson & Lang, 2007). Teacher preparation programs are responsible for developing critical dispositions in their candidates and ensuring candidates have acquired them before recommendation for certification. Furthermore, school administrators must ensure that the teachers they hire have the right dispositions before placing them in a classroom with students. Valid and reliable instruments must be used to measure teacher and teacher candidate dispositions.

The purpose of this study was to identify a finite set of dispositions critical for an effective teacher and to …

A Qualitative Study To Identify, Evaluate, And Analyze University Policies, Procedures, And Programs To Determine The Degree Of Correspondence To The Council Of Adult And Experiential Learning Principles For Adult Learners, Yonna S. Pasch

Doctoral Dissertations

More adults are looking to higher education to re-enforce job security, potentially increase future income, and enhance skill sets and credentials (Ritt, 2008; Business Education Forum, 2013; Stevens, 2014; Harrison, 2017). The traditional structure of higher education institutions, however, continues to pose challenges for adult learner access (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012; Dachner & Polin, 2016; Croix, 2018). The purpose of this study, utilizing a Distributed Leadership framework, was to identify, evaluate, and analyze university policies and procedures that utilize the Council of Adult and Experiential Learning Principles (CAEL). The study identified the level of CAEL Principle implementation found from policy …

Mission Enactment And Strategic Enrollment Management At Jesuit Universities, Drew Roberts

Doctoral Dissertations

The larger neoliberal environment that is driving all of higher education has left Jesuit universities and their leadership to face two problems. First, the ability for Jesuit universities to uphold their social justice inspired mission and offer an affordable and accessible liberal education is being threatened because they are pricing out those they seek to serve. Second, there is a growing disconnect between the espoused mission of Jesuit universities and the decisions that their leaders and administrators make to run the enterprise.

This explanatory case study seeks to understand the ways senior-level strategic enrollment officers at Jesuit universities experience and …

Understanding Why Students Take Industry-Based Credentialing Examinations: Instrument Development And Pilot Study, Jennifer H. Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

Educational credentialing is complicated for students with the addition of industry-based credentialing (IBC) in traditional academic and career and technical fields (Bahr, 2015; Lumina Foundation, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). Human Capital Theory and Cognitive Engagement Theory framed this study which looked at IBC training from the student point of view (Grisham, 2013; Saldana, 2016; Walters, 2004). The body of literature on credential training is sparse and largely focused on institutional policy rather than student perception and participation (Bahr, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). There is evidence that salaries are positively correlated with IBCs and studies show that employers pay …

What Is The Association Between The Financial Position Of Public Institutions To Tuition Discount Rates?, Richard Crawford

Doctoral Dissertations

Public higher education institutions have increased the practice of tuition discounting, which is the planned use of institutional provided financial aid to offset a portion of the tuition and fee price that students pay. As the cost of higher education has increased and the competition for students has increased, the use of tuition discounting as an enrollment management tool has also increased. The primary reason for the increase in the cost in public higher education, since the 2008 recession, is the funding cuts from state governments. The cuts in state funding have placed more pressure on public institutions to improve …

Epistemology, Wisdom, And Social Transformation: Strategies At The Forefront Of The Contemplative Movement In Higher Education, Nicola Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

American society is currently experiencing a surging interest in contemplative practices. The secularization and professionalization of contemplative practices can be seen in the adoption of mindfulness-based approaches in sectors as wide-ranging as technology, nonprofit, and higher education. Amongst all these fields, institutions of higher education play a unique role within the contemplative movement in that the academy lays claim to the powerful social roles of producing and disseminating knowledge and, subsequently, of shaping societal values and behaviors.

In conducting this qualitative study, the researcher analyzed 1) what the academics in the contemplative movement expressed through their speech regarding the activities …

Followership And The Development Of Female Leaders In Higher Education Administration, Donna Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Much attention in occupational advancement has been devoted to leadership studies, leadership literature, leadership trainings, leadership styles, and leadership strategies; however, the leadership dynamic is merely one side of the organizational coin. On the less-addressed flipside is the topic of followership. This Grounded Theory (GT) study addresses the perception of the role of followership in the development of female leaders in higher education. The study uses semi-structured interviews with 10 females in higher education administration to gather data concerning the perceived role followership has played in the professional development of the female administrators. Through GT qualitative data analysis procedures, interview …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Writing Program Directors' Perceptions Of Factors Promoting Writing Programs, Carole Kempler Meagher

Doctoral Dissertations

Although California grows more socially and ethnically diverse, and its public universities serve this changing population, spending in higher education has been cut over the past few years. In this context, crucial departments such as writing programs, which offer all students the opportunity to build their communication skills while bringing their unique perspectives to traditional theories, have been under pressure for their higher cost than traditional lecture-style and new online courses. Further, writing programs are not always perceived as a source of institutional prestige.

This study starts with critical pedagogy: the idea that education is social change. The study then …

"Preventive Leadership Program" At The Salesian University: An Exploratory Case Study, Alejandro Rodriguez

Doctoral Dissertations

Leadership is a key factor in the quality of personal life, organizational culture, and social projection of each member in any organization. Bringing out the best of each person involved in any decision is a must for a Preventive Leader. This kind of leadership opens the possibility to develop, adapt, change and modify the theoretical construct of the definition of a leader from the Preventive horizon, the practical implications of Preventive Leadership development, and the learning and practice of Preventive leadership in a contextualized environment, creating interactions and interdependencies in a net-like pattern of relationships situated in one specific context: …