Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The 2016 Presidential Election Of Donald Trump And Its Impact On The College-Going Experience For Then-Undergraduate Lgbtq+ Students, Nicholas Russo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

On November 8, 2016, businessman and mogul Donald J. Trump won the U.S. presidential election, sending shockwaves across the country given that polls indicated that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would win the election. On U.S. college campuses, students reacted to the election win, and for LGBTQ+ undergraduate students, their marginalized identity was negatively impacted by Trump’s win because of his rhetoric towards this population. Colleges and universities responded to the 2016 election results by sending out communications to affirm their mission and values for all their constituents, but this response was perceived as not supporting by LGBTQ+ undergraduate …

Utilizing Interprofessional Collaboration To Support And Broaden Perspectives Of First-Generation, Low-Income Students, Taylor Stratman

Social Work Masters Capstone Projects

First-gen, low-income students face significant barriers when it comes to postsecondary education. In order to be successful, professionals working with this population has utilized value-led programming and provided expansions of their cultural perspectives.

¡Arriba Las Mujeres!: Incorporating Self Care Practices, Pláticas, And Testimonios To Enhance Leadership Development Amongst Latina Student Leaders, Alandra Sanchez

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

In traditional Latinx culture, Latinas have always prioritized the needs of others before their own. Oftentimes, so much of their time and energy goes towards providing others with the aid and resources to thrive. In conducting pláticas with four Latina student leaders who held an executive leadership role within a Latina student organization, it quickly became evident that these patterns and behaviors appeared in their leadership approach. With the little aid they receive from the University, they are the individuals who are solely responsible for fostering enriching experiences for their student members. Although they lead with compassion, love, and a …

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 …

Understanding Perceptions Of Graduating Seniors From Rural Schools On Higher Education: A Preregistered Study, Desiree Denise Brake

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case (preregistered) study is to interview rural young Americans, deeply explore how they think about higher education as they prepare for life beyond high school, and analyze how those views and perceptions translate into barriers or motivators to its pursuit. Rural Americans feel less optimistic about their financial futures, find it more difficult to find a job in their communities, and believe their children will have a lower standard of living than their parents when they reach their parents’ age (Morin, 2016). Rural students are more likely to graduate from high school than their urban …

Delaying College For Domestic Civic Service: The Gap Year Experiences Of City Year Americorps Alumni, Christopher John Bryson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade the concept of taking a gap year has become mainstream in the US. This idea of delaying enrollment, or taking a break from college, before beginning a bachelor’s degree, has gained popularity, especially as the cost of attendance in higher education has soared and the burden of paying for it has been placed on the student as the consumer. Similarly, the sought-after gap year experiences offered in the private sector are often costly. With the rising popularity of gap years, it is important to identify experiences that are accessible to a wide variety of backgrounds and …

“What’S Belonging Got To Do With It?”: An Exploration Of Campus Racial Climate And Sense Of Belonging In Black Counseling Students Attending Predominately White Institutions In The North Atlantic Region, Erin Durrah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) dialogues are raging across campuses throughout the U.S. with specific focus on the needs of Black student populations in the aftermath of the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbury murders. However, if the supportive spirit of the DEI initiatives is undermined by a hostile campus climate and local community, it may negatively impact the learning environment isolating the target population, while also effecting their potential for successful completion of their programs. The current qualitative study aims to explore the perceptions of belonging expressed by Black graduate students enrolled in Council for Accreditation of Counseling …

The Acculturation Process Of International Students In Cacrep Counseling Programs: A Grounded Theory Approach, Hanny Wuysang

Dissertations

International students bring diverse, multicultural perspectives to the U.S. postsecondary education system through their participation in higher education. However, in their adjustment to U.S. higher education, international students in counseling programs face barriers and challenges such as language differences, lack of support, microaggressions and discrimination, culture shock, and different perspectives on mental health treatment as compared to their home cultures. These factors can interfere with their daily personal and academic lives, yet there is often minimal support from their academic programs and host institutions. The growing number of international students in counseling programs increases the importance of understanding their acculturation …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Why Post- Leaving Certificate Students In Ireland From Disadvantaged Backgrounds Are Less Likely To Proceed To Third-Level Education, Edward Hayes

Theses

Educational disadvantage continues to be a cause for concern, and addressing it remains at the forefront of education policy in Ireland (Houses of Oireachtas, 2019; Weir et al., 2017). This research extended across the academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 and during the period of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed public health measures, and enforced an emergency online digital learning environment. A socio-economic profile of Ireland’s student body registered an attainment gap between rich and poor, finding that young people from backgrounds of disadvantage continue to be underrepresented at third-level when compared to their middle-class counterparts (HEA, 2020). The primary …

Lived Experiences Of Latino(A) College Students Enrolled In A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu), Gabriel Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many first-generation Latino(a) college students, the college-setting is a new and scary place. Without the support of family and friends, the chances for them dropping out or not finishing their college education grow. Recognizing that Latinos(as) make up a growing segment of the college-going population, higher education institutions and their leaders must not only recruit individuals from this demographic population, but must also work to help these students remain enrolled and guide them to graduation. Institutions must be able to provide a welcoming campus culture and environment as a means of fostering student success. Historically Black College and Universities …

Learning By Doing: Preparing Student Activists For Democratic Engagement, Marjorie G. Valdivia

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how college students' experiences with co-curricular social justice advocacy activities supports capacity-building for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. Given the increasing and widening of economic inequality in the U.S. (Hernandez Kent & Ricketts, 2020), exploring how co-curricular experiences in higher education settings can support students to gain capacities for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. While there is a significant amount of scholarship on how diversity education and service-learning contribute to college students' civic engagement, the literature on student involvement in campus activism on progressive, democratic, civic engagement is sparse (Kezar & Maxey, 2014) Using a mixed methods approach, this …

Enacting A Critical Media Production Pedagogy, James D. Swerzenski

Doctoral Dissertations

This project draws upon earlier calls—particularly in the critical pedagogy, critical media literacy, and cultural production fields—to outline a teaching approach that balances technical media production practices and critical media studies. I refer to this synthesis as critical media production pedagogy. This blending of critical analysis and technical skill, I argue, is especially important at the university level where my research is focused, as students in these courses will likely enter industry fields in which they can influence culture on a mass level. Creating opportunities for a media theory/production synthesis enables students to translate critical ideas beyond the academy and …

How Well Does The New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program Work For Black Men? A Mixed Methods Study, Michael A. Dejesus Iii

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research trended towards a deficit-oriented approach to understanding and explaining Black male underachievement. The past education research has focused on discussing the underachievement of Black males in Higher education. Finding solutions often were prescriptive in “fixing” behaviors in Black males to improve academic achievement. Additionally, there has been a trend towards race-neutrality in education policies, programs, and admissions criteria. And there is a lack of research on whether race-neutrality further exacerbates Black male underachievement by ignoring key race and gender targeted supports services that could improve Black male academic outcomes in higher education. While Black men have historically struggled …

Measuring Effectiveness Of Public Safety Dispatch Training, James Michael Keyser

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by James Michael Keyser on October 24, 2022.

Extra-Institutional Bonded Social Networks: A Qualitative Study On Their Impacts On Adult Learner Entry/Re-Entry, Persistence, And Transfer/Graduation At A Technical And Community College, Matthew J. Leisen

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Adult Learners are no longer a minority population in the higher education landscape in the United States. They enter and re-enter technical and community colleges with a vast array of experiences and are often influenced by their Extra-Institutional Bonded Social Networks (EIBSN) which are identified in this research as: Family, Friends, Work, Community, and Religious/Spiritual. The college student’s academic journey is outlined in three major phases, what are identified in this research as: Entry/Re-Entry, Persistence, and Transfer/Graduation. This study researches the social impacts of the five identified EIBSN at each of the three phases and is underpinned by several theorists’ …

Effects Of Social Distance And Stigma On Reduction In Loneliness: A Social Discounting Pricedure, Abby J. Lemaster

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Abby J. LeMaster on September 30, 2022.

The Making Of A Bilingual University In The 21st Century, Michael Mena

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the southernmost tip of Texas, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) opened its doors on August 31, 2015 as a ‘bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate’ campus—the only one of its kind and at a scale never before attempted in the United States. This is a categorical achievement in the near 200 year-long quest for the educational advancement of Latinxs in Texas—a state historically structured by white supremacist ideologies, violent economic and political disenfranchisement, as well as a racially segregated education system designed to maintain exploitative labor practices (Montejano 1987; González 1990, 2013, 1999; Blanton 2004). This constitutes the …

The Influence Of Selected Personal And Academic Demographic Characteristics On Persistence To Degree Completion Among Traditional-Age Undergraduate Students At A Research University In The Southeastern United States, Michael Eugene Mckey Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A college education has never been more important than it is today. With nearly two-thirds of jobs in the future requiring some form of advanced education, and approximately one-third of those requiring a bachelor’s degree, it is imperative that research be undertaken to address the factors that contribute to the success of students in college, more so regarding the persistence and retention of those students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal and academic demographic characteristics on the persistence to graduation, specifically, within six years. A causal-comparative research design was used as the …

College Athletics And The Exploitation Of The Black Body, Nathan Wiggins

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

The Black body has gone through different forms of exploitation in the United States in the centuries since the first enslaved Africans were brought to this land. Although chattel slavery has long been “abolished,” it has taken a new form in college athletics. While most scholarship college football and basketball players are Black and produce millions of dollars of revenue for large and small universities, the players are not compensated and did not see a dime of it come to them. When I say that college athletics is a modern form of slavery, one might find that statement confusing because …

Restorative Justice In A Co-Ed Greek-Letter Organization, Olivia Wurzbach

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

The purpose of my action research was to examine the impact of using restorative justice practices with members of my past co-ed Greek-letter organization. My participants were alumni of the co-ed Greek-letter organization that were active members between the years of 2011-2015. I met with my participants individually and taught them about restorative justice practices. I then facilitated a series of community building circles with my participants where we reflected on our time as active members of the organization and explored how being members of the organization has impacted who we are today. We collaborated on creating ideas for community …

Resilience, Outcomes, And Burnout In Social Service Workers, Savanna Muse

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Savannah Muse on August 9, 2022.

Enhancing Graduate Student Onboarding To Strengthen Graduate Student Sense Of Belonging And Ease The Transition Into Graduate School, Shannon Patiño

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

The purpose of this action research was to study graduate students' sense of belonging enrolled in programs within the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) at the University of San Diego (USD) and their transition experience. This study was guided by the question: How can I improve new student onboarding programming to increase graduate student sense of belonging during the early stages of our graduate students’ onboarding experience? How can I also create a resource to help ease the graduate student transition into graduate school?

Quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a survey and one-on-one interviews with graduate …

Supporting Reverse Transfer Students: From Trauma To Transition And Triumph, Stephanie Burga

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

This study explores the reverse transfer student identity, a population or group that transfers from a four-year college or university to a two-year community college. The research utilizes a San Diego two-year community college as the sample institute to discover more about a sample of the reverse transfer student identity. The theoretical framework includes a combination of intersectional stigma and the ethic of care that is implemented throughout the transition process for the student. The purpose of this study is to seek and uncover patterns as to why students reverse transfer and what support looks like for them. How does …

Black Panhellenic Sorority Member Experience At The University Of San Diego: Finding A Sense Of Belonging & Support, Kayla A. Wilkins

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

The purpose of this Action Research project was to learn more about the experiences of Black current and alumni members of Panhellenic sororities. My study explored their experiences within Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) as a whole, as well as how they have navigated being in predominantly white spaces at the University of San Diego. One of the main problems discussed was how some chapters do not know what support looks like for Black identified members. Members completed a brief survey and participated in an individual interview and discussed their sorority experience at USD. During this project, I learned from …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Second-Year African American Male Students On Predominantly White Campuses Through Critical Race Theory, Craig S. Pickett Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Title: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Second-Year African American Male Students on Predominantly White Campuses through the Lens of Critical Race Theory

Abstract:

The critical nature of the first year has pushed thousands of colleges and universities across the United States to create intentional programs specifically for first-year students. Less understood are the experiences of students during their second year – a different and, at times, even more challenging period. Second-year students face a myriad of issues, including achieving competence, desiring autonomy, establishing identity, and developing purpose, with many experiencing a phenomenon called the sophomore slump. …

The Front Lines Of Student Success: A Phenomenography Exploring The Background And Knowledge Of Primary Role Academic Advisors In Higher Education, Alicia N. Abney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenographic study was to understand the experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives of new, primary role academic advisors at four-year public institutions in the United States. Research on advising has provided insight into advising best practices and the student perceptions of academic advising; however, there is little research illustrating current primary role academic advisors and their experience, or perhaps lack thereof.

To receive highly coveted federal and state funding, higher education institutions must show growth in student success. Academic advisors are on the front lines of student success because they are tasked with the responsibility of retaining …

Assessing Stress In College Students After Breathing Meditation With And Without Music, Joshua L. Le Clerg

Graduate Theses

College students face increased levels of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can adversely affect their academic performance. Therefore, it is critical for students to have access to practices that reduce stress, such as breathing meditations and listening to calming music, which are cost effective and require minimal time commitment. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of combining breathing meditation and listening to music for five minutes a day, five days a week, for two weeks. Fifteen undergraduate students completed the study and were randomly assigned to a control group who completed the breathing meditation without music (n=8) …

Language Ideologies In First Year Composition Textbooks, Joanna Clevenger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis examines how standard language ideologies are perpetuated in the five most frequently assigned first year composition textbooks from four higher education institutions in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Standard language ideologies position one variation of a language as superior, correct, appropriate and the normal variation of a language which everyone should be able to speak. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the five textbooks were analyzed in order to uncover the embedded power and hegemony over women, people of color, and those from a lower socioeconomic status which are prevalent throughout society because they are unchallenged and widely accepted as the …

Active Military Student Persistence In Online Courses At California Community Colleges, Stephanie E. Gernert

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The diversity of higher education institutions is changing, and more post-traditional students, including those associated with the military, are engaging in higher education. Almost every post-secondary institution in the United States has military students. In 2020, $11.5 billion was spent on over 875,000 eligible military students. Military students often prefer online courses at community colleges due to flexibility around their military career, open-access, and affordability.

Yet, few studies examine active military servicemembers alone and, when research is performed, a lack of thorough data collection exists. Therefore, this study focused on active military students in online education in California Community Colleges. …