Community College Leadership Commons^™

Does Gender Spell Success? Exploring Female Student Perspectives Of Faculty At A Higher Educational Institution, Chitora Jackson

Journal of Research Initiatives

Numerous studies have pointed to connections and positive interactions with faculty that result in positive outcomes for students (Beckowski & Gebauer, 2018; Jones, 2020; Trolian et al., 2021). However, despite this knowledge, there are still some areas related to this topic that remain under-researched. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of female students at a higher educational institution and to understand how those experiences shape their perspectives of female and male faculty. Additionally, this study sought to discover how faculty gender influences their interactions with students and the similarities and differences between …

Beyond The Binary: Strengthening Nursing Students’ Proficiency Of Equitable Health Promotion, Martha K. Findley

Theses

Background: Sexual and gender diverse (SGD) populations continue to experience significant health inequities, yet prelicensure nursing curricula often lack structured, evidence‑based training to prepare students for equitable care.

Purpose: This study evaluated whether a targeted, transgender‑focused simulation could improve nursing students’ clinical knowledge and preparedness for providing equitable health promotion to SGD populations.

Methods: A pre‑/post‑intervention design was used with senior‑level nursing students who completed a transgender patient simulation emphasizing communication, assessment, and equitable health promotion. Students completed a validated survey measuring knowledge and preparedness in caring for SGD patients.

Results: Significant improvements across most survey items demonstrated that the …

Bridging Borders: Community College Dual Credit Policy And Latinx Student Success In The Southwest Borderland, Daniel Guerra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Early College High School (ECHS) programs have expanded access to college coursework and accelerated degree pathways; however, less is known about how Latinx students experience the transition from these programs into four-year institutions. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eight Latinx students who completed ECHS and matriculated to a four-year university between 2022 and 2024 in a Southwest borderland. The location is geographically isolated along the U.S.-Mexico border with a predominantly Hispanic population. Framed through Community Cultural Wealth and Rational Choice Theory, the study examined how students relied on cultural assets and evaluated educational opportunities while navigating secondary …

The Relativity Of Education: Student Perspectives On Artificial Intelligence In Community College, Ashley Greta Magana

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how diverse community college students experience and make meaning of the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational contexts. Although AI is quickly transforming higher education through automated grading, personalized learning systems, and new models of assessment, the discourse surrounding its implementation remains dominated by administrators, faculty, and institutional stakeholders, while the perspectives of students, specifically community college students who are often historically underrepresented and economically marginalized, are systematically excluded. Most existing research is quantitative and centered on universities, leaving a critical gap in qualitative understanding of the most diverse population in higher …

Staying The Course: Community College Student Lived Experiences On Program Completion And Motivation, Jessica Leigh Mills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of former community college students who successfully completed an associate degree, certificate, or program of study and to understand how they experienced the personal, institutional, and environmental factors that supported their persistence to completion. The study, guided primarily by Tinto’s (1975,1988) Model of Student Departure and was complemented by Bandura’s (1988) Social Learning Theory (SLT), and Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs, explored the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations students attributed to their successful completion of their associate degree, certificate, or program of study. Twelve former community college students who …

The Stories Of College Faculty Navigating Student Trauma Disclosures: A Narrative Inquiry, Samantha Daluz

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to understand how faculty who navigate student trauma disclosures construct stories about themselves as educators and how those stories shape their understanding of teaching and learning. Although the literature has increasingly focused on trauma-informed approaches to teaching and learning, little research has explored how faculty navigate student trauma disclosures or how those experiences shape their understanding of teaching and learning. This study sought to better understand those experiences and provide institutional leaders with insight into how faculty experience student trauma disclosures within higher education. Narrative inquiry was employed using Mahayana Buddhism as the …

Becoming An Educator: A Narrative Inquiry Into The First-Year Journeys Of Community College Career-Switching Cte Faculty, Alisha Ferrington

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in community colleges increasingly depend on career-switching instructors, professionals who transition from industry to teaching with substantial technical expertise but limited formal pedagogical preparation. Despite their growing presence in the community college workforce, the lived experiences of first-year career-switching CTE faculty remain underexplored, particularly regarding how the transition shapes professional identity, instructional practice, and institutional belonging.

This qualitative study employed narrative inquiry to examine the first-year teaching experiences of seven career-switching CTE instructors at community and technical colleges in the Gulf South region of the United States. Guided by transformative learning theory, communities of …

Analyzing The Institutional Factors Associated With Sense Of Belonging Among Stem Adjuncts At Community Colleges, Karuna Taneja

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In this study I examined the relationships among organizational support, workplace conditions, and sense of belonging among adjunct faculty teaching STEM courses in community colleges. Grounded in the need-to-belong theory (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) and Herzberg’s two-factor theory (1968), I distinguished between relational and structural dimensions of faculty experiences. Perceived organizational support was conceptualized as a relational construct reflecting faculty members’ perceptions of being valued and included within their institutions, whereas workplace conditions were examined as structural factors influencing job satisfaction.

Using a quantitative, cross-sectional correlational survey design, data were collected from adjunct STEM faculty (N = 64) teaching at …

Exploring Literacy Preparedness And Academic Experiences Of First-Year Community College Students, Alexandra Ranieri

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges enroll students with diverse levels of academic preparation, yet placement into college-level coursework often relies heavily on high school grade point average (GPA), which may not fully reflect students' literacy preparedness. Although research has linked literacy proficiency to academic success, little is known about how first-year community college students experience literacy preparedness during the transition to college. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the literacy preparedness of first-year community college students and explore how their reading abilities aligned with their early academic experiences. Guided by the Reading Systems Framework (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014), the …

I Was There, I Belonged There, And I Should Be There: The Adult Student Experience In Community College Courses Filled With High School Students, Charles Douglas Bowling

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The rapid expansion of dual-enrollment and early college high school programs in North Carolina has led to a substantial increase in the numbers of dual-enrolled high school students in community college classrooms. This exploratory case study examined how adult students described their experiences in university-transfer courses in which dual-enrolled high school students make up the majority of the class. It also examined how some of these adult students’ instructors described the experiences of these adult students.

The current study was conducted at three community colleges in rural counties in southern Appalachia and included semi-structured interviews with 18 adult students (24-60 …

A Correlational Study Exploring The Influence Of Organizational Climate On Job Satisfaction Of Non-Faculty Staff At Texas Community Colleges, Tamesha M. Hilliard-Daniels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As U.S. higher education institutions face increasing challenges related to employee morale and retention, understanding the drivers of workplace satisfaction is critical for institutional stability. This research investigates the relationships between organizational climate factors and job satisfaction among staff within Texas community colleges, applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene as the theoretical framework. Specifically, this study explores the influence of institutional communication, employee well-being, and organizational mission and pride on staff job satisfaction. Utilizing a quantitative correlational design, the study analyzed secondary data from ModernThink’s Higher Education Insight Survey©. The sample consisted of 2,265 higher education professionals collected …

Foreword From Editors - 19th Edition: Community Stewardship Towards Sustainable Futures, Yandi Andri Yatmo, Kristanti Dewi Paramita, Rini Suryantini

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The discussions highlighted from the articles in this AJCE edition focuses on the institutionalization, process, and implication of community in stewarding their living environment. Such focus expands the community engagement discourse, highlighting how the act of stewardships creates a sense of shared responsibility of actors to their shared spaces and resources. In turn, this shared responsibility enables the community to shift from passive act of participation to active empowerment, creates social cohesion, and establishes local governance. Such a shift towards active empowerment and shared responsibility is the key in building systemic resilience, towards a more sustainable future for society.

Building Community Leadership Capacity Through Extension Partnerships: An Evaluation Case Study, Paul A. Hill, Lendel K. Narine

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This evaluation study examines the effectiveness of the Leadership Dixie program in enhancing leadership capacity among participants in Washington County, Utah. As a program partner, Utah State University (USU) Extension conducted the evaluation on the program’s 25th class, comprising 27 participants (N = 27). The program, characterized by 10 monthly “Challenge Day” field tours, was evaluated using two instruments to collect data on participant learning and satisfaction levels, overall program experience, demographics, and impacts on social capital, interpersonal leadership skills, community engagement, and volunteerism. Results indicate strong positive outcomes in social capital, community engagement, and volunteerism while highlighting areas for …

Voces Rurales: Understanding The Latina Rural College Student Experience, April Mazón

The Rural Educator

This article integrates research with lived experiences to explore the educational and career transitions of Latina rural college students and the unique challenges they encounter in navigating higher education and the workforce. Drawing on the phenomenological study “Voces Rurales: Examining Latina Rural College Student Experiences in Navigating Transitions from College to Career or Post-Baccalaureate Studies,” which coupled semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation methodology, this article highlights the critical intersection of rurality, gender, and ethnicity in higher education. The study focused on Latina undergraduate students in a rural border county with two institutions of higher education: a community college and a …

Invisible Students, Visible Consequences: Leadership Under Fte Funding, Derek Bryant

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The full-time equivalent (FTE) funding model used by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) serves as a structural constraint that misaligns financial incentives with the missions of the 23 member institutions within it. This qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study, through interviews with system- and college-level leaders, found that this model underserves part-time, adult, and workforce students while simultaneously contributing to a resource instability that prioritizes enrollment over student success. The study concludes that any reform must require a redesigned funding model that first makes institutions whole, with a stable operational baseline of funding, by incorporating broader enrollment measures that better align …

Reclamando Corazón Y Voz: Latinas Speak Their Truth Through Plática As Resistance In California Community College Learning Disabilities Assessments, Maricela Becerra

Dissertations

Although California Community Colleges (CCCs) offer learning disability (LD) assessments to determine eligibility for academic accommodations, for Latina students navigating converging forces of race, gender, language, citizenship, and ableism, these assessments often surface unspoken histories of harm. This study advanced Chicana feminista DisCrit (CFDC), extending disability critical race theory through Chicana spirituality and cultural intuition to examine possibilities when an educadora situates assessments in a plática grounded in consideración—respectful, relational, and unhurried care.

Rooted in Chicana feminist pláticas methodology and authored from the positionality of a disabled Latina scholar–practitioner, this qualitative decolonial dissertation explored how Latina students reflected on …

Who Gets To Be Taken Seriously? Three Atypical Scholars Navigate Doctoral Education At The Intersections Of Race, Neurodivergence, And Veteran Identity, Sr. Richard De La Garza

Dissertations

As a first-generation, neurodivergent, Mexican American/Chicano veteran, I entered the University of San Diego's doctoral program having had experiences that most institutional intake processes would label as risk factors. The Findings chapter of this dissertation begins by describing those experiences—not as a confession, but as the foundation for a systematic inquiry into how doctoral legitimacy is produced, withheld, and defended. The description of my life experiences is followed by a discussion of the doctoral journeys of two other study participants who also were atypical doctoral candidates.

The central argument being advanced is this: What higher education calls "fit," "rigor," and …

Success By Design? A Combined Outcome And Process Program Evaluation Of California’S Early And Middle College High Schools, Brooke N. Martin-Gill

Education Dissertations

Early and Middle College High Schools (EMCHS) expand college access for

underrepresented students by integrating high school and college coursework within

community college settings. Despite strong reported outcomes, some EMCHS face

substantial student attrition. Limited research examines how EMCHS organizational

structures influence student persistence. This mixed methods outcome and process

evaluation seeks to address this research gap. Quantitative analysis (paired samples-t-

tests) examined statewide enrollment data (2017-2025) to determine whether significant

differences exist between Year 1 and Year 4 cohort enrollment. Qualitative analysis was

conducted through a deductive discourse analysis of Western Association of Schools and

Colleges (WASC) Self-Study reports …

Closing The Global Skills Gap: Employer Panels As Partnership Tools For Industry And Higher Education, Dean Campbell, Emily Workman

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This paper explores how employer panels function as partnership tools to close the global skills gap between higher education and industry. As workforce demands shift toward adaptability, critical thinking, and intercultural competence, institutions must prepare students with both technical and soft skills. Guided by Communities of Practice and constructivist learning frameworks, two community college case studies—a metropolitan branch campus (BCCC) and a rural college (RCC)—demonstrate how employer panels support workforce readiness. Panels engaged employers, faculty, and students in discussions informed by pre-session surveys and industry insights, highlighting skills essential for navigating a globalized economy. Outcomes show that panels foster collaborative …

Exploring The Impact Of Ungrading On Student Engagement And Motivation In A First-Year Composition Class, Mary B. Gruis

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study investigated the association between student engagement, motivation, and self-efficacy in college-level writing-intensive courses using an ungraded approach. Motivated by disillusionment with traditional grading methods and inspired by texts on equitable grading and culturally responsive teaching, the researcher explored how ungrading could foster deeper learning and equitable educational practices. Grounded in Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy framework, this qualitative case study examined the lived experiences of first-year composition students at a two-year institution. Data collection included student interviews, student reflections, and an instructor interview. The analysis revealed themes aligned with self-efficacy, engagement, and motivation, suggesting that ungrading positively impacted students' perceptions …