Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Impact Of Food Insecurity Among First Generation College Students On The University Of Arkansas Campus, Madison Price

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to: 1) better understand food insecurity among first generation college students and how it might differ from that of other college students, and 2) gather opinions from students that may serve as solutions to alleviate food insecurity. This study was conducted with a mixed-methods survey that included both open-ended and close-ended questions. This study had six detailed parts, including research design, population sampling, instrumentation, data collection, data analysis, and finally, the results. All of these unique phases allowed for first generation students’ voices to be heard and to help meet their needs on the …

Politics In The Classroom: A Survey On College Students’ Comfortability To Share Their Views, Ashley Rene Tuell

Communication Studies

The following study used theories of belongingness and spiral of silence to investigate students’ comfortability when sharing their political views in class. This study employed a survey distributed to a convenience sample of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students. The survey contained multiple choice and free response questions that encompassed political affiliation, willingness to share political views in class, and demographics. The results of the survey were interpreted using SPSS statistics software, specifically ANOVA tests and Fisher’s LSD. The findings of this study ultimately indicated that liberal students feel more comfortable sharing their views than moderates and conservatives. Findings also …

University Students' Wellbeing: A Case Study Of An International Private University In Egypt, Alia Attia

Theses and Dissertations

Wellbeing is a crucial topic that is gaining increasing attention in higher education and should be taken into careful consideration. This is a qualitative case study, using a phenomenological approach, which explores the phenomenon of student wellbeing in an international private university in Egypt. Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews with a total of fourteen participants: eight purposefully selected students who have taken part in wellbeing programs, initiatives, or events at the American University in Cairo (AUC), as well as six faculty/staff members, leaders, mentors, or coaches in the field were interviewed. In addition to the interviews, conversations were …

Exploring The Needs Of College Students Experiencing Housing Instability, Sandy D. Dawoud

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explored the needs and experiences of college students who have aged out of the foster care system and facing housing instability at a large public institution. The study explores the participants' pre-college experiences and college journey to identify challenges they faced, sources of support, and unmet needs impacting their education. Analysis of 14 individual interviews highlighted key themes related to motivations, obstacles, and desired assistance across areas like finances, mental health, academics, and support systems. This work has implications for implementing tailored institutional support, community partnerships, transition programs, and advocacy efforts to promote resilience and success for …

Impact Of Implicit Racial Bias On Students Of African Descent In Predominately White Institutions, Edwin Mathieu

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how implicit racial bias influences the perceptions of students of African descent in predominately White colleges (PWIs) in the United States (U.S.). The theoretical framework for the study is critical race theory (CRT). CRT challenges racial indifference by exposing how racial advances often come at the cost of promoting or feeding into White self-interests (Patton et al., 2007). This non-experimental quantitative study examined how GPA, the number of credits earned, gender, race, and campus culture impact students of African descent’s perceptions of culturally implicit racial bias. It used Asian, Hispanic, and White students as a comparison group. …

Understanding Needs: Facilitating Faculty Support For Formal Assessment Processes In Higher Education, Terrance Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature discusses how conflicting beliefs regarding assessment, competing workloads, and a lack of formal assessment resources may contribute to faculty reluctance to engage with formal assessment processes. There is a gap in research on exploring assessment leader-faculty relationships through the lens of Leader-Member Exchange Theory and how that may affect participation in formal assessment processes. To address this gap, the researcher implemented a qualitative, phenomenological study to interview faculty about their lived experiences in working with formal assessment processes and interacting with assessment leaders. The goal was to discover emerging thematic categories regarding faculty perceptions of formal assessment processes …

Type Vs. Turnout: Correlations Between Types Of Higher Education Institutions And Student Voter Turnout, Janea Mccoy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Voter turnout in the youth demographic has been the subject of increased attention and research in the past several years, with many questions left unanswered. The 18-25 age demographic can play a crucial and impactful role in elections. However, many young adults do not vote. Higher education has often been viewed as a catalyst for civic engagement amongst this age demographic, with correlations between enrollment in higher education and increased rates of voter turnout being evident. Given there is much variation between different kinds of institutions, however, this raises the question: what types of institutions and their respective characteristics correlate …

Alumni Giving From Online Learners: A Logistic Regression Study, Jaqlyne S. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alumni giving is increasingly important to the vitality of institutions of higher education. With governmental financial support of public institutions steadily declining, understanding philanthropic giving is more important than ever. Advancement offices that serve alumni populations benefit from analyzing predictors of the behavioral phenomenon of charitable giving. It is also known that enrollment in distance education programs is on the rise in the United States. For university administrators and advancement professionals to be proactive in cultivating relationships with alumni that attended through an online modality, more research was needed to understand what motivates philanthropic giving from this alumni constituency. Using …

Agency In Learning And E-Learning Through The Lens Of Disability And Inclusivity., Marta Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through the analysis of ethnographic, qualitative data collected from students and their stakeholders at the University of Louisville, this thesis examines the experiences of students with disabilities in spaces of higher education, particularly virtual learning spaces. This research has illuminated systemic gaps in disability resources and accessibility within the landscape of higher education, restricting the agency of students with disabilities and their stakeholders.

The Collateral Consequences Of Criminal Stigma In Higher Education: Investigating Barriers To Institutional Access And Social Inclusion, Hannah K. Chimowitz

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the collateral consequences of criminal record stigma within the realm of higher education, an important institutional domain that is recognized as facilitating social mobility and providing opportunities for individuals with criminal histories. I develop an integrative theoretical framework and present two empirical studies. Study 1 investigates the relationship between criminal screening in undergraduate admissions applications and campus crime rates, as well as Black undergraduate enrollment rates. Using the Common Application's removal of criminal history questions as a natural experiment, I employ propensity score methods and estimate a series of latent growth curve models using structural equation modeling. …

From Epistemic Bubbles To Generative Possibilities: Knowledge Leadership And Knowledge Mobilization For Child And Youth Care Practicum Education, Carys Cragg

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Child and Youth Care (CYC) Practicum Education (CYCPE) operates in more than 40 public postsecondary institutions (PSI) across Canada. CYC educators instruct and assess, while supervisors mentor thousands of students at child, youth, and family-serving organizations. As an emerging profession, CYC does not yet experience well-established governance, widespread postsecondary research infrastructure, nor public recognition, leaving CYCPE with threats to its credibility and existence. Despite individual CYC educators’ and programs’ extensive professional knowledge, we lack CYC-specific CYCPE organizational knowledge. This problem of practice (PoP) limits CYC educators’ ability to inform, improve, and innovate upon CYCPE’s design and delivery. This organizational improvement …

One Step At A Time; Union Organizing In The Public Sector South, Daniel Urquieta

Masters Theses

In October of 2000, a coalition of students and workers started a public sector labor union for higher education employees known as United Campus Workers at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. As a public sector union in Tennessee, United Campus Workers lacks the right to collectively bargain. By conducting interviews with union-related personnel and reflecting on my own time as a member, this paper explains the way the labor union has still won campaigns for higher pay and policy changes at UT-Knoxville within its legal context, and what union members and staff organizers make of their experiences. I conclude …

How To Drink From A Firehose: Systemic Supports For Polytechnic Chairs, Jocelyn R. Crocker

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is centred on the Problem of Practice of the inadequate institutional supports for academic Chairs at Prairie Polytechnic (a pseudonym), a large public higher education institution in Western Canada. Chairs are pivotal for higher education institutions because they impact student, departmental, and institutional outcomes; however, the leadership development needs of Chairs are overlooked, and the limited training available for Chairs is primarily ad hoc, episodic, short-term, and self-guided. The objective of this OIP is to determine how Prairie Polytechnic can provide more effective systemic supports for Chairs. Postmodernism is used to explore the relationships between …

Integrating Behavioral Research Findings With A Liberal Arts Paradigm, Jonathan Peterson

LSU Master's Theses

This paper explores the role of behavioral research in understanding the complexity and relevance of creativity. A brief history of the liberal arts and its current application is followed by a discussion of the importance of variability in generating novel and diverse responses, challenging the notion that creativity is solely a product of innate talent. The effects of reinforcement on variability, and how it relates to a complex relationship between reinforcement and the probability of variable responding leads to a discussion of how the combination of previously trained behaviors can lead to creative problem-solving, emphasizing the role of combinatory behavior …

Using Active Student Responding And Competition Via Kahoot! To Improve Student Academic Engagement At College Level, Brittany Pearson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Active student responding (ASR) is an effective intervention used in schools to improve student engagement and academic performance. Among the various ASR modalities, online applications have received much more attention than low-tech ASR modalities due to the widespread use of smartphones and the availability of mobile applications. One totable online application is Kahoot!, which offers a range of interactive features. Considering the limited existing research on using ASR at the college level, particularly, using Kahoot!, this study examined the use of Kahoot! to improve academic engagement in college students. The study was conducted with one undergraduate class in applied behavior …

Balancing Act: A Study Of Graduate Student-Parents And Their Experiences Navigating Family And Academic Demands At The University Of San Diego., Jessica Rammell

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

The purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of graduate students who are raising children while enrolled in master’s and PhD programs at the University of San Diego. The question that guided this research was: What do the stories of graduate student parents inform us about the need to improve policies and practices at USD? Three cycles of action research were conducted at the University of San Diego between November 2022 and March 2023, with a total of seven participants. The methods of research included focus groups, interviews, and a creative group session. It was found that …

The Role Of Partisan Politics On Support For Public Institutions Of Higher Education, Jason G. Ramage

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over several decades, a greater share of the expense of earning a college degree has shifted to students and their families as appropriations to public institutions of higher education have declined as a percentage of the overall cost to educate a student. Tuition has greatly outpaced inflation during this period, while inflation-adjusted household income has remained relatively flat. Despite all the benefits that accrue to both the college graduate and society as a whole, for the less affluent, a college education is becoming increasingly difficult to attain. Many decide the financial barriers are simply too great and elect not to …

Goal Setting And Student Retention, Hugh Castillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student retention has been a problem with which higher education institutions must face. Institutions have employed numerous different programs and services to improve student retention. This study sought to open up a new way to improve student retention by utilizing a goal-setting intervention that focused on creating SMART goals for student areas of weaknesses. This study employed the use of a quasi-experimental interrupted time series to better understand how goal-setting interventions could impact the participant attitudes correlated to retention. It was shown that goal-setting interventions had no significant impact on likelihood of retention but did exhibit improvement in client engagement …

The Erasure Of Rural West Texas Voices In Higher Education Institutions An Autoethnographic Study Of Minoritized Students Of West Texas In Their Journey To Obtain Success In Higher Education Institutions, David Whaley-Weems Sr

All Dissertations

I was once told there is a person in the world who has locked within his or her mind the framework for the cure for cancer or even the ability to create an energy model that will revolutionize how society consumes natural resources. Now imagine if I told you I have seen that person alive and well working as an oil well driller on a rig in Mentone, Texas. The first question most people would ask is, “Why is the person drilling in the middle of nowhere Texas instead of impacting the world by way of displaying his or her …

Examining The Relationship Between Technological Skills And Success In Higher Education Among Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, Ebony Cubias

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background and purpose: Research has tended to focus on the outcomes of how digital inclusion for incarcerated individuals has helped reduce the rate of recidivism rather than the success rate in higher education for formerly incarcerated individuals. This study was implemented to examine the relationship between technological skills and academic achievement amongst formerly incarcerated individuals in higher education. Methods: This observational study used cross-sectional data from participants recruited from Project Rebound in California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB). Participants were recruited using purposive sampling method. Students who participated were over the age of 18, formerly incarcerated, and currently enrolled in …

Creando La Confianza: Narratives On Mentorship Of Latina Professors At The University Of New Mexico, Maria G. Vielma

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

Numerous scholars have investigated the significant role that representation and mentorship play in the success of Latinas and other women of color during their journey through higher education, from degree completion to faculty hiring and advancement (Vasquez 1982, Zambrana et. al. 1997, Valdez 2001, Cavazos & Cavazos 2010, Shayne 2020, Contreras et. al. 2022). However, little research exists surrounding the lived experiences that have shaped mentorship carried out by university faculty, specifically, mentorship carried out by bilingual Latina faculty in higher education. Through a Latina Feminist Epistemology implementing Oral History Methodologies, this thesis aims to understand the cycle of mentorship …

A Quantitative Study Of Authentic Leadership, Authentic Followership, And Organizational Commitment Within Christian Higher Education, Daniel E. Mcdonald

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Organizational commitment is an important component within Christian higher education, impacted by the words and actions of authentic leaders and followers. In a time when more people left their jobs or looked for new employment than ever before, it was necessary to identify contributing factors that built and detracted from organizational commitment within this context. In this study, the researcher explored the relationships between organizational commitment and authentic leadership and authentic followership from the perspective of followers within five institutions in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). The findings provided important context for current levels of connection between …

Handbooks, Policies, And Power: Discursive Language And Lgbtqia+ Representation In Christian University Handbooks, Kaitlin Merlino

Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate

For many years, tensions have existed between Christianity and the LGBTQ community, most apparent in contexts such as politics and education. One site of conflict is within the realm of Christian higher education, specifically in regards to campus-wide regulation of same-sex behaviors. This research examines the language in sexuality-based rules as communicated in four Christian universities' handbooks. Bakhtin & Holquist (1981) demonstrate the innate tension between dialogue and the social context within which it is understood. Therefore, since language is not neutral, the words creating these rules are in themselves a site of tension for the university, its contributors, its …

The Effectiveness Of The University Of Southern Mississippi's Marketing And Branding Efforts Among Prospective Students, Amy Clevenger

Honors Theses

With enrollment rates expected to surge over the next decade, the competition

between institutions of higher learning will also increase. Because of this, marketing

material produced by all institutions will need to adjust to become more effective at

establishing brand identity to attract the attention of prospective students. Using Aaker’s

brand identity model as a framework to understand branding methods, this research aims

to identify marketing communication strategies that are more effective in a prospective

student’s decision-making process. The thesis also investigates prospective students’

recall and perception of marketing material produced by USM to determine its overall

effectiveness and differences …

Modest Aspirations: Day Dreams, Frivolity, And Digital Lives Of Public College Girls In Lahore, Pakistan, Anam Khan

Theses and Dissertations

This project was conceived out of a policy announcement in 2016 where the Higher Education Commission Pakistan announced that the two-year colleges were to be phased out and eventually eliminated. In doing so, the notice suggested that they will be replaced by programs modeled around the United States community college and called Associate Degrees. This ongoing development formed the basis of my research as for many gender and class minorities, these programs are the only option for post-secondary education in a country where many do not have the privilege to go to college. I aimed to analyze the kind of …

“Investment In Inertia”: Language Ideologies Of Instructors And Students Of Spanish As A Heritage Language, Michael E. Rolland

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When the Spanish-language skills of heritage Spanish learners are disparaged in an academic environment, these learners are at high risk of abandoning further study of Spanish and shifting entirely to English. This dissertation uses mixed qualitative and quantitative research methods, including thematic and discourse analysis, to investigate the language ideologies of instructors and students of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) and the effects of those ideologies on students’ experiences in SHL college courses. It builds on earlier research on language ideologies in the post-secondary heritage language context (e.g., Carreira, 2011; Loza, 2017; Valdés et al., 2003). I find that …

Examining Ableism In Music Therapy Education And Clinical Training: Student And Educator Perspectives, Rebecca Warren

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Ableism is the discrimination against disabled people and favoring of nondisabled people. Ableism can pervade societal expectations, medical systems, educational systems, and culture. Within higher education, ableism can prevent disabled students from succeeding in programs with unique requirements, like music therapy. College music therapy programs combine aspects of music, psychology, and clinical training. While music therapy students frequently will work with disabled clients, there is a lack of consideration for disabled music therapy students and disabled music therapists. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine ableism in music therapy education and training. Participants completed a creative writing response …

Strength In Numbers: An Exploratory Case Study On The Impact Of Conflict In Multi-Institutional Higher Education Collaborations, Michele Robyn Dinicola

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The higher education landscape is changing. Students seeking access to college are increasinglydiverse, geographically dispersed, socioeconomically challenged, and will require higher education administrators to closely examine their models to ensure they are well-suited to serve the needs of these students. Responding to these shifts will require higher education administrators to shed traditional approaches in favor of innovative, cost-effective, flexible models of education delivery. Many institutions address this challenge through a reliance on higher education consortia and collaborations. In Maryland, one approach to collaboration takes the form of multi-institutional Regional Higher Education Centers (RHEC) like the largest of them, the Universities …

Cause For Complaint: A Case Study Exploring Office For Civil Rights Complaints And Resolutions Related To Digital Accessibility At Public Colleges And Universities, Helen Gema Muñiz Bermudez

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

As the number of students with disabilities pursuing postsecondary opportunities continues to grow, along with an increase in digital educational content and technology, the issue of digital accessibility becomes increasingly urgent - both as a matter of equity and access for disabled students and as a matter of social and fiscal responsibility for postsecondary institutions. When postsecondary institutions fail to meet the requirements of disability legislation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the federal entity responsible for enforcement and complaint investigations, handling hundreds of complaints related to digital accessibility at postsecondary institutions since 2013. There …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …