Higher Education Commons^™

A Narrative Inquiry On Chinese International Doctoral Students’ Perspectives On Developing Critical Thinking In The U.S., Shuaipu Jiang

Doctoral Dissertations

Guided by transformative learning theory and Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development, this dissertation study examines Chinese international doctoral students' critical thinking development process in the US. The two research questions that guided this study are: (1) How do Chinese international doctoral students understand and conceptualize critical thinking? and (2) How have Chinese international doctoral students developed critical thinking during their doctoral studies in the U.S.? Narrative method design is applied to the study, which interviews eight participants. Using narrative thematic analysis of data, four key themes emerged from the study: a) awareness of critical thinking in Western versus …

Accreditation Of Teaching And Research Universities In Afghanistan: A Policy Implementation Analysis, Sayed Javid Mussawy

Doctoral Dissertations

The quest for quality has encouraged many countries to establish quality assurance and accreditation models to sustain and improve quality. While some established their own procedures, a great majority of the countries including those in the developing world have adopted quality assurance policies developed in the Global North to respond to internationalization and to participate in the knowledge economy. However, most universities in developing countries lack adequate infrastructure to implement accreditation standards. Thus, investigating the implementation of accreditation policies in developing nations provides new insight into the opportunities and challenges posed by internationalization of quality assurance and accreditation. This study …

Who Benefits From Deferred Entry To College?: Exploring The Relationships Between College Deferment, Postsecondary Academic Success, And Institutional Selectivity, Gabriel Reif

Doctoral Dissertations

Prior research on delayed entry and gap years have produced conflicting results on the relationships between deferring entry to college and postsecondary academic success. Specifically, studies on delayed entry have linked the phenomenon to lower attainment rates, while the literature on gap years has shown a positive relationship with college GPA. These conflicting findings make it unclear for students, families, counselors, administrators, and policymakers to understand whether deferring entry to college is an opportunity that should be pursued by more individuals or if it is something to be avoided. The focus of this dissertation was to bring prior findings on …

Utilization And Effect Of Multiple Content Modalities In Online Higher Education: Shifting Trajectories Toward Success Through Universal Design For Learning, Catherine A. Manly

Doctoral Dissertations

The idea that offering multiple means of representing course content will assist students of all abilities constitutes one pillar of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework intended to address needs of students with disabilities while also holding relevance for all students. The efficacy of this UDL guideline lacks a verified empirical basis and therefore merits rigorous examination. My dissertation investigates the effect on learning outcomes of students using multiple modalities while learning course content (e.g., text, video, audio, interactive, or mixed content), targeting improving educational success for non-traditional online students. I investigate this effect for older undergraduates from a …

Effects Of Teaching Argument To First-Year Community-College Students Using A Structural And Dialectical Approach, Sharon Radcliff

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure to what extent an experimental method of teaching argument incorporating elements from both Toulmin’s (2004) structural approach and Walton’s (2013) dialectical approach effects first-year college students’ ability to write strong arguments. This experimental instruction used critical questioning as a strategy in building a strong argument, incorporating alternative viewpoints, and creating a dialogue between claims and counterclaims, backed logically by verifiable evidence from reliable sources.

Using the Analytic Scoring Rubric of Argumentative Writing (ASRAW; Stapleton & Wu, 2015) that includes the argument elements of claims, data, counterclaim, counterclaim data, rebuttal claim, and rebuttal …

The Collegiate Black Space: Black College Students’ Use Of New Counter-Spaces For Support, Knowledge Production, And Organizing For Activism, Heather Streets

Doctoral Dissertations

Black collegians who attend historically white institutions continue to struggle with racism, microaggressions, feelings of alienation, minimal or improper advising, and an undue pressure to prove themselves (Bonner, 2010; Feagin & Sikes, 1995; Strayhorn, 2010). These barriers to success result in part due to a lack of support from the colleges and universities that they attend (Allen, 1992; Parker, Puig, Johnson & Anthony, Jr., 2016). With institutional benefits designed to benefit white students over students of color, Black students must find their own alternatives for collaboration and to provide support for their peers.

Many Black spaces can be defined as …

The Relationship Between Metacognitive Strategies And Listening Comprehension Proficiency In Intensive-Korean-Foreign-Language Setting, Gumok Seo

Doctoral Dissertations

The study investigated the relationship between a metacognitive-listening strategy and listening proficiency and gained insights into students’ perceptions of listening-strategy use among Korean-as-a-foreign-language learners in an intensive-language setting in Northern California. Little research has been carried out in a Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) setting, and investigation in a different context of an intensive-language program is needed where good study habits, such as metacognitive strategy, self-regulation, and autonomous learning are required. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between metacognitive-listening-strategy use and listening proficiency outcomes by more- and less-proficient students among KFL adult learners and their perception of metacognitive-listening-strategies.

To achieve the …

Financing Public Higher Education In Afghanistan: Alternative Sources And Options, Hassan Aslami

Doctoral Dissertations

Adequate financing is key to achieving the priority goals of higher education – access, quality, and relevance. In Afghanistan, the demand for higher education has increased remarkably while public higher education institutions still rely heavily on inadequate government funding. In addition, the constitutional provision guaranteeing free higher education up to the bachelor’s level in public institutions, the overall weak economy of the country, and the lack of institutional autonomy, contribute to financial austerity in public higher education institutions. This study explored alternative funding sources and options for financing public universities in Afghanistan. An integrated theoretical framework guided this study as …

Prefigurative Politics And Revolutionary Practices Within International Service-Learning: A Case Study Of The Ciee Thailand Program On Development And Globalization, Koni Denham

Doctoral Dissertations

Today's colleges and universities are prioritizing the preparation of students for global citizenship. To meet this need, institutions are focusing their study abroad and international service-learning programs to provide students with international experiences (Bringle & Hatcher, 2011). Government support for such programs is driven by advancing globalization, promoting economic competitiveness, and ensuring national security (Hantzopoulos & Shirazi, 2014). The problem, however, is that participation in service-learning does not guarantee that students will engage in further social action activities upon their return (Hartman & Kiely, 2014). A contributing factor to this lack of engagement is because participants are not gaining transferable …

Exploring Language, Culture And Identity: Perspectives From Non-Native Arabic University Teachers In The Us, Brahim Oulbeid

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how six non-native (NN) university Arabic teachers make sense of language, culture, and identity. Specifically, it aims to understand how their experiences as Arabic language learners, preservice teachers, and classroom practitioners shape their classroom work, especially as they relate to their conceptions of teaching culture and the negotiation of their personal and professional identities. Four questions guide this study: how NN Arabic teachers perceive culture, what their culture teaching practices are, what identities they enact, and what their contributions to the teaching of Arabic as foreign language (TAFL) field are. To address these issues, the study draws …

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) …

Making Meaning In The Margins: Identities, Belonging, And Social Justice Commitments In A Cross-Race Intergroup Dialogue For Queer And Trans College Students, Nina M. Tissi-Gassoway

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative research study used constructivist grounded theory methods to explore the lived experiences of 11 queer and trans undergraduate college students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds in a cross-race intergroup dialogue (IGD) course. Using document analysis of course assignments and post-dialogue semi-structured interviews allowed for rich inquiry into how these queer and trans students made meaning of their intersecting identities, sense of belonging, cross-race relationships, and social justice commitments. This study contributes new knowledge about the meaning-making processes of queer and trans college students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds and the role that IGD plays in supporting …

Factors Predicting Turnover Of International Science And Engineering Faculty At Us Research Universities, Lauren Longino Jacobs

Doctoral Dissertations

In today’s global knowledge-economy, US research universities seek to attract and retain the best and brightest faculty in the world to increase the university’s intellectual capital and compete on a global scale. Increasingly, universities hire talented international faculty to fulfill these needs, which is especially prevalent in the science and engineering fields (S&E). International faculty benefit US universities in areas of research and scholarship as well as increased diversity and internationalization of the campus, however, not all international S&E faculty are retained. In fact, higher turnover has been found among international S&E faculty than their domestic peers (Kim, Twombly, & …

Women In Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics (Stem): Pre-College And College Factors Of Success, Jada Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholars have reported that the competitiveness and innovation of the United States’ workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] fields are critical to maintaining our nation’s security and economic edge (Chen, 2009; Carlone & Johnson, 2007; Espinosa, 2011). Indeed, STEM is one of the fastest growing fields in the employment industry, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (Langdon, et. al, 2011), and between 2008 and 2018, the number of STEM jobs is expected to increase 17%. Fostering learning pathways for all individuals interested in pursuing careers and education in STEM disciplines is necessary for us to meet the …

Critical Cultural Perspectives On Teaching Arabic As A Foreign Language (Tafl): A Critical Ethnographic Investigation Of A Us College-Level Course, Shaimaa Moustafa

Doctoral Dissertations

A gap in the critical cultural research paradigm in foreign language teaching (FLT) and teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) at the college level in the U.S. context subsists. FLT and TAFL have been characterized by the prevalence of the communicative and proficiency-based pedagogies and their concomitant research frameworks. This prevalence is tied to the growing neoliberal and terror rhetoric in recent years (Kramsch, 2005; Bernstein et al., 2015). In the face of the latter, a need for critical cultural frameworks of teaching and research became plausible to deconstruct the different clichés and biases in the context of Arabic …

Expanding Access To Elite Institutions Through Community College Transfer: An Intrinsic Case Study Of Bucknell University’S Community College Transfer Initiatives, Catherine Sanchez

Doctoral Dissertations

Elite institutions of higher education have been under increased scrutiny for failing to provide equitable access, and rightly so. Recent research reveals that students from underserved populations are severely underrepresented at elite colleges and universities. These findings echo research conducted nearly fifteen years ago, indicating that despite class-based policy efforts, like need-blind admission and no-loan financial aid, little movement has been made to expand access to students who could benefit the most from an elite education. This lack of movement serves as the entry point for this study, which argued that if community college transfer is to make a difference …

Are Some Horizons Broader Than Others? Study Abroad, Inequality, And The Influence On Careers And Education., Suzan Kommers

Doctoral Dissertations

Study abroad is one of the main ways in which higher education institutions provide students with the opportunity to gain international experiences. While study abroad is mostly discussed in terms of the beneficial effects on students’ learning and development, the results in this dissertation indicate that study abroad works for some but disadvantages other students. Based on nationally representative U.S. data, I examined 1) disparities in students’ opportunities to study abroad as well as the effect of study abroad on the socioeconomic outcomes 2) early career income and 3) graduate school enrollment. The combined studies in this dissertation provided insight …

Development Of A System Architecture For The Prediction Of Student Success Using Machine Learning Techniques, Tatiana A. Cardona

Doctoral Dissertations

“ The goals of higher education have evolved through time based on the impact that technology development and industry have on productivity. Nowadays, jobs demand increased technical skills, and the supply of prepared personnel to assume those jobs is insufficient. The system of higher education needs to evaluate their practices to realize the potential of cultivating an educated and technically skilled workforce. Currently, completion rates at universities are too low to accomplish the aim of closing the workforce gap. Recent reports indicate that 40 percent of freshman at four-year public colleges will not graduate, and rates of completion are even …

Latina/O College Students' Experiences At A Predominately White Research University, Maria Alicia Remaly

Doctoral Dissertations

Latina/o students’ access to higher education has increased over time; however, the graduation rates for this group (52%) remain lower than those for white students (63%) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). This low graduation rate presents a problem for the financial and social progress of the Latina/o population due to the key role that having a bachelor’s degree plays in the labor force. The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative study was to better understand the college experiences of Latina/o students in a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the state of Massachusetts. This study focused in key areas that are …

Dropping The Invisibility Cloak: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Sense Of Belonging And Place Identity Among Rural, First Generation, Low Income College Students From Appalachian Kentucky, Brenda Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations

In a country that once was 95% rural in the late 1700s, only 19.3% of the population of the United States now live in rural areas (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The shift in population from rural to urban areas is not simply demographic; it imbues a shift in who and what matters. Only 13.6% of adults over 25 in Appalachian Kentucky have earned bachelor's degrees, 18.9% below the national average (Appalachian Regional Commission, 2016). This phenomenological study seeks to understand how rural, first generation, low income college students from Appalachian Kentucky experience a sense of belonging in their first year …

Steering Against The Tide? Presidential Leadership And Diversity At Amherst College, Letha Gayle-Brissett

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the more significant success stories of inclusion in US higher education has been that of Amherst College’s transformation into a highly diverse student body. This research examines the role and effect of presidential leadership in Amherst College’s diversity achievement. Using a case study design, data was collected from interviews with then President Anthony Marx, various members of the College community who were central stakeholders in the diversity initiative, and selected archival original College documents. The research draws on Bolman and Deal’s (2003) organizational leadership framework to analyze how various institutional dimensions of the College were challenged and changed …

Mapping The Development Of College Going Identities Among Aspirantes Puertorriqueñas, Yedalis Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite constituting the largest group of minoritized students, Latinx students continue to have the lowest educational attainment compared to all other groups in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). While Latinx enrollment in college has increased, the majority of Latinx high school graduates enroll in community college as opposed to 4-year Bachelor’s degree granting higher education institutions, and only a small percentage of these students will ever transfer into a 4-year college or university (Excelencia in Education, 2015; Kurlaender, 2006; Perez & Ceja, 2015). Increasing participation in higher education among Latinxs requires a better understanding of college choice process for …

Every Pawn Is A Potential Queen: How Female Early-Career Faculty Play The Game Of Tenure, Bethany Lisi

Doctoral Dissertations

The research on early-career faculty on the tenure track suggests they are surviving amidst low job satisfaction. Scholars found that early-career faculty lack the skills and preparation needed for the job, perceive the tenure process to be vague or unclear, feel isolated or disenchanted with their work, and struggle with time management (Austin, 2002; Austin, Sorcinelli, & McDaniels, 2007; Batille & Brown, 2006; Ponjuan, Conley, & Trower, 2011; Tierney & Bensimon, 1996). Female early-career faculty are susceptible to additional gendered and biased challenges (Gappa, Austin, & Trice, 2007). Missing from the literature are the positive experiences of early-career faculty. The …

The Experience Of Chinese Students Enrolled In Graduate Music Education Degree Programs In The United States, Kailimi Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of Chinese graduate students enrolled in music education master’s and doctoral degree programs in the United States. Specifically, it explored participants’ perceptions of (a) their educational experiences (past and present), (b) the challenges they faced, (c) their strategies for success, (d) the benefits they experienced as international graduate students in the United State, (e) the effect of this experience on their thinking, self-perception, and behavior, and (f) how they planned to move forward or move on following this experience. Participants were six native Chinese graduate students enrolled at the time …

Stem Pipeline For Students With Disabilities: From High School To Intentions To Major In Stem, Joshua Bittinger

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major declaration intentions of students with disabilities as they graduated high school and entered college. I used data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) because data collection began in high school and followed students into college, facilitating research focusing on access. Before investigating major declaration intentions, I critiqued the definition and measurement of disability in the HSLS:09, drawing from survey research methods literature. The two subsequent analyses focused on psychological and structural components, respectively. My focus on psychological components drew from Eccles and colleagues’ (1983) expectancy-value framework. …

The History Of Massachusetts Transfer And Articulation Policies In Contexts Of Evolving Higher Education System Structure, Coordination, And Policy Actors, Daniel De La Torre, Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges carry out dual missions providing occupational and collegiate preparation in local communities across the United States. These institutions prepare students for advanced study via transfer policies that lead to enrollment in baccalaureate institutions. State higher education systems use transfer and articulation policies to strengthen academic pathways between two-year and four-year institutions. These policies rely on established governance to facilitate student transfer between sectors. The transfer and articulation literature stresses the importance of statewide policy guidelines, yet little has been written about the process of transfer policy development involving state higher education governance and policy groups and actors. The …

Multiple Representations Of The Fundamental Theorem Of Calculus As Enacted In The Curriculum, Sense-Making And Gender, Ileana Vasu

Doctoral Dissertations

Multiple representations of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC) are deemed essential to creating mathematical habits of mind, but not all classroom instruction includes them. This study articulates the relationship between college students’ experience with multiple representations of the FTC, gained through the enacted curriculum, and their use of multiple representations when problem solving or discussing the FTC. It suggests that students’ use of multiple representations directly relates to their curricular experience, which outweighs a student’s own inclination towards any particular representation. It further suggests that the relationship between classroom experience with a particular representation of the FTC, and its …

What Do We Really Know About Grit? A Multivariate Statistical Investigation On The Construct Validity Of Grit, Christine M. Collaco

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to collect evidence on the construct validity of grit using convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity principles. To accomplish this purpose and extend previous research on grit, college students from two schools completed an instrument comprised of a cognitive ability test, and a questionnaire. The questionnaire was comprised of existing and multiple measures of grit, interest, self-efficacy, locus of control, and conscientiousness along with a number of college success measures. Structural equation modeling was used as the primary statistical analysis technique. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis were also used.

First, the results …

Residence Directors As Residential Crisis Workers: Exploring The Role Of Campus-Based Critical Incident Stress Management In The Mitigation Of Compassion Fatigue, Noga Flory

Doctoral Dissertations

Residence Directors, as a result of repeated exposure to their students' trauma, are prone to developing compassion fatigue. Research on the use of college-based Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has been shown to foster collaboration, consultation, and increased stress debriefing among staff who respond to critical incidents on campus. CISM can teach Residence Directors means of recognizing work-related triggers, contribute to the normalization of stress reactions, and improve healthy coping and self-care strategies. CISM can also potentially help reduce or diminish the incidence of compassion fatigue and burnout, thereby improving Residence Directors' overall professional and personal quality of life and …

The Role Of Resistance And Social Capital In Facilitating Latino/A College Success, Patricia Sánchez-Connally

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between race and educational achievement among inner city, low income, first generation, and high achieving Latino/a students. Research on students of color has focused on cultural deficit models, which portray students as culturally deprived and proposes cultural assimilation as the solution (Nieto 2010; Delpit 2006; Solórzano & Yosso 2002). As a way to contest these models, I describe the role of Academic Support & College Readiness Program (ASP) as a place where community cultural wealth (Yosso 2005) is being created and transferred. Community cultural wealth is an alternative concept that uses Critical Race Theory (CRT) …