Digital Commons Network^™

The Empowerment Of Academic Women Leaders At Saudi Universities And Its Relationship To Their Administrative Creativity, Azala M. Al Ghamdi

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of leaders’ sense of psychological empowerment for women leaders on those leaders’ administrative creativity in both established and emerging universities in Saudi Arabia. The five guiding research questions were used at both established and emerging Saudi universities: (1) what are both male and female leaders’ perceptions of women leaders’ psychological empowerment? (2) What are their perceptions of the administrative creativity among women leaders? (3) How do perceptions of both psychological empowerment and administrative creativity differ between male and female leaders and between established and emerging universities? (4) What other …

Factors Influencing Accessibility To American Public Higher Education, Angela Leanne Bryan

Dissertations

Since their inception in the early 1900s, community colleges have been about making higher education accessible. While their initial purpose was to overcome the geography barrier to higher education, the mission of community colleges and higher education on the whole has expanded over time to mitigate other barriers to higher education to include gender, race, religion, and socioeconomic barriers. As public support for higher education has changed over time, institutions have had to change their tuition and fee structure to make up the budget shortfall created by the decreases in public funding. How have these changes impacted accessibility to public …

The Impact Of Denominational Affiliation On Organizational Sense Of Belonging And Commitment Of Adjunct Faculty At Bible Colleges And Universities, Kimberly M. Pilieci

Dissertations

The majority of faculty in higher education, including secular and biblical institutions, are adjunct faculty. The literature suggests that adjunct faculty are less effective and satisfied, and have weaker organizational sense of belonging (OSB) and affective organizational commitment (AOC). Denominational affiliation (DA) and religious commitment (RC) might mitigate the adjunct faculty’s feelings regarding OSB and AOC, but no research has pursued this set of questions. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of denominational affiliation and religious commitment on organizational sense of belonging and affective organizational commitment among the sample population, adjunct faculty at colleges and …

From Novice To Independent Researcher: A Content Analysis Of Phd Student Blogs, Sarah J. Cox

Dissertations

The work of completing a PhD is complex, requiring a student to make sense of many uncertain processes in multiple contexts as they move toward independent scholarship. A setting that provides support in learning the tasks of PhD-related work is the informal learning environment of the Internet. Social media sites, such as blogs and wikis, supply a vast number of resources related to PhD work. Of particular interest to this study, are blog sites maintained by students who are sharing practices related to PhD work. It is possible to use a qualitative method to explore what blogs show us about …

Preparing Future Leaders: An Ethnographic Study Exploring The Culture Of Succession Planning And Leader Development In Christian Higher Education, Andrew Barton

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore the culture of succession planning and leader development at Lipscomb University, using the 5C’s: Strategies for succession planning in the academy model. In the face of unprecedented disruption and complexity, the review of literature suggested the higher education sector in the United States is largely underprepared for the upcoming exodus and shortage of leaders. With religiously-affiliated institutions accounting for more than one in five colleges and universities in the US, there were no visible studies attending to succession planning and leader development in Christian higher education. Given the important contribution …

Females In Automotive Careers: Career Decision-Making Influences And Experiences During University Preparation And Beyond, Russell A. Leonard Jr.

Dissertations

Today, women fill nearly 50% of the jobs in the U.S. economy (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2014). While women are making progress in many careers once considered male only, they are still underrepresented in the male-dominated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers, filling only 25% of available STEM jobs (Beede et al., 2011). The problem is not a lack of interest in STEM subjects, but a “leaky pipeline” that develops early in adolescence. By the eighth grade, half as many girls are interested in STEM careers as boys (National Science Foundation [NSF], 2007). Even after graduation from college, women …

Our Voice, Our Choice: Race, Politics And Community Building On The Pages Of Five Historically Black College And University Newspapers From 1930 To 1959, Sheryl Monique Kennedy Haydel

Dissertations

From 1930 to 1959, the black college student-run press was a prolific voice leading discussions about ways to eradicate racial discrimination, amass political currency, and nurture communal solidarity. Embedded in their mission was a desire to awaken their readers intellectually and emotionally to join a mounting movement toward racial liberation. Yet, historians have ignored this expansive network of black collegian editors and writers, who were a philosophical extension of the professional Black Press.

Like their mentors in the Black Press, black college student editors and writers vigorously advocated for racial equality, took a combative stance against political gerrymandering that left …

Dual Enrollment Efficacy On College Readiness As Perceived By High School Dual Enrollment Teachers And Counselors In South Alabama, Shulanda Stallworth Franks

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Dual Enrollment teachers and high school counselors to compare and determine whether there are significant differences between their perceptions of college readiness among DE participants in South Alabama. Data was analyzed and presented based on its relevance to effectiveness. This study is relevant because scholars are unclear about the effects of DE on college readiness.

This research was designed to close some of the gaps in the literature and help education stakeholders to identify effective mechanisms to continue to develop and promote the Dual Enrollment program. This study examined …

The Use Of Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis For Academic Progress And Degree Completion, Joshua William Schutts

Dissertations

College student retention and graduation are important to students, institutions, and the community. Institutions must commit to understanding why students persist and depart in order to address student success. As a result, institutions and governmental entities have increased the emphasis they place on using data to improve student success and degree completion. An abundance of research suggests that background factors (such as high school GPA and ACT score) combined with environmental factors (such as one’s major and first semester GPA) are predictive of student success. However, the literature has yet to explore the value of ROC curve analysis as a …

Tales From The Field: A Phenomenological Study On The Unique Challenges Iraq/Afghanistan Ptsd Veterans Experience While Attending A Community College In Southern California, Nick N. Arman

Dissertations

With the downsizing of U.S. military personnel and increased educational benefits offered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, many Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans will enroll in a community college for education and training opportunities (Vacchi, 2012). A review of literature revealed the majority of OIF/OEF combat veterans in higher education suffered from symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Ackerman, DiRamio, & Garza Mitchell, 2009; American Council on Education, 2009; Cate, 2014). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the unique challenges experienced by OIF/OEF veterans diagnosed with PTSD when attending community college …

Exploration Of Experiences And Perceptions Of Saudi Arabian Students Within A Team Project Setting At An U.S. University, Ronald A. Mckean

Dissertations

Cultural differences between Saudi and American students produce immense challenges to a successful integrative acculturation. Positive experiences can not only enhance the education of international students, but also effect understandings and attitudes of local students, administrators, faculty, and staff. A greater implication of these experiences may be their influence on long term international relationships. Few qualitative studies have been conducted that examine the dynamics of the cultural integration of Saudi students with American students during the acculturation process.

The purpose of this qualitative research, therefore, is to describe and interpret the experiences and perceptions of Saudi Arabian students as they …

A Qualitative Study Of Factors Promoting Doctoral Attainment Of Second-Generation Mexican American Males From California, Jorge Chavarin

Dissertations

Research on second-generation Mexican American males who attain a doctoral degree is limited. Often, the data presented clusters Mexican Americans under the Latina/o or Hispanic ethnic group, focuses on factors that hindered educational attainment or details Latino male experiences in the context of their Latina female counterparts. Mexican-Americans are the largest subgroup of this ethnic group yet little is known about their post-secondary educational experiences. Rather than focusing on barriers, this study concentrated on the factors that influenced eight Mexican American males from California who attained their doctorates from a doctoral-granting university within California.

Arguably, the self-efficacious men of this …

The Influence Of Race And Ethnicity On Giving Among Latin@ Young Alumni From A Predominantly White Institution, Michael Bumbry

Dissertations

Little is known about the way in which alumni of color think about and exercise giving to higher education (Gasman & Anderson-Tomkins, 2003). The majority of research in alumni giving to higher education has not highlighted the unique elements of philanthropy within communities of color, promoting the assumption that they are not philanthropic compared to their White counterparts (Newman, 2004). This is problematic considering shifting educational, labor and economic demographics which suggest that people of color are enrolling and graduating from college at higher rates; entering the work force, and have increasing buying power. Further limiting scholars’ and practitioners’ understandings …

You're Kind Of Just Conditioned: Women And Female College Students' Defiance Of Dominant Social Messages In The Development Of Leader Self-Efficacy, Shannon Darracott Howes

Dissertations

Researchers have consistently found that women have lower leader self-efficacy (LSE) than men, despite being equally capable as leaders. This is problematic because LSE is associated with many benefits that support the development and enactment of leadership. Despite the importance of LSE, there is a dearth of research on the construct, particularly in the higher education context. This grounded theory study utilized semi-structured interviews with 12 undergraduate students who identified as females or women to explore how they developed LSE. Findings were related with four core concepts that were woven throughout the various categories of themes that comprised the grounded …

Symbolic Centers In The Background Or Units At The Forefront Of Change? Race Specific Cultural Centers And Student Support Programs And Their Potential Impact On Students Of Color, William Rodriguez

Dissertations

This study examined the potential impact race specific cultural centers and student support programs (CCSSPs) have on the leadership development of students of color. Data from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership was used to answer two primary questions. The two primary questions focused on the potential impact of CCSSPs on leadership outcomes and the rates of participation in high-impact leadership practices. The analytic approach utilized “effect size” methodology while also conducting sample t-tests to compare means between CCSSP users and non-users and chi-square analysis for relationships between dependent categorical variables.

No findings emerged for leadership outcomes for the sample as …

Identity Styles, Mediated By Commitment And Syncretism, As Predictors Of Undergraduate Students' Attitudes Toward Selected Discipleship Practice At Vally View University In Ghana In 2015: Implications For Religious Education, Juvenal Balisasa

Dissertations

Problem

The study of student life on campus has attracted numerous social science enquiries especially in the areas of spirituality, religiosity, and meaning making in life. Of particular interest has been the attempt to restore value-based education in Christian institutions of higher learning, taking cognizance of the need for cultural contextualization and the influence of postmodern ideology. This present study sought to examine the possible predictive role of identity styles, mediated by commitment and syncretism, in the attitudes towards discipleship practices among undergraduate students of Valley View University in Ghana, West Africa in 2015.

Method

The study employed the principles …

Self-Efficacy, Locus Of Control, Perceived Stress And Student Satisfaction As Correlates Of Dissertation Completion, Gabriela A. Dumitrescu

Dissertations

Purpose of the Study

Doctoral students face a multitude of challenges in the process of completing their degree, and barriers to the success of doctoral program completion can occur at many different levels. Many factors contribute to dissertation completion or non-completion. Studying the influence of these factors on the task of dissertation completion may result in enhancing dissertation progress and program completion. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of self-efficacy, locus of control, perceived stress and student satisfaction on dissertation completion among doctoral students in educational psychology at selected university in the United States.

Method

Survey …

A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Minority Resource Eligibility For Half White Multiracial College Students, Nicholas Reyes Franco

Dissertations

Over the last several decades, multiracial populations have received increased attention in academic literature, particularly regarding identity development and psychological health and wellness. Less attention has been given to individuals with one minority and one white parent (i.e., half white individuals) in the context of affirmative action and higher education. Existing quantitative studies on this topic suggest, on the one hand, that half white individuals are likely to be considered members of racial minorities, yet, on the other hand, less of a minority—and less deserving of affirmative action benefits—than monoracial individuals or multiracial individuals with multiple minority identities. College students’ …

Curricular Instruction Of Global Leadership At Colleges And Universities In The United States, Tara L. Edberg

Dissertations

Colleges and universities in the United States have made leadership education a priority as they prepare students to confront adaptive challenges in the 21st century; “wicked problems” such as poverty, uneven opportunities for education, homelessness, and illnesses worldwide. In addition, with the increased globalization of our world, the need to teach students how to lead in a complicated, multicultural context intensifies. Global leadership is an emergent concept in the leadership field combining leadership practices with those of global cultural competency while highlighting the significance of a dynamic and complex context in the leadership process.

While there has been a significant …

Campus Mental Health Practices And The Stigma Of Mental Illness: A Quantitative Analysis Of Student Affairs Professionals, Megan Krone

Dissertations

Around half of undergraduate college students will experience mental illness to some extent during their academic careers, yet a low percentage of students experiencing signs and symptoms of mental illness will seek help despite the availability of proven, effective treatments. The field of higher education has demonstrated a genuine concern for individuals with mental illnesses and mental health care on campuses, yet implementation of practices that connect students to treatment is inconsistent and effectiveness is uncertain.

This study searched for associations between campus practices and campus culture regarding mental illness. While institutions of higher education are using both traditional and …

Meaning-Making In Student Conduct Administration: A Developmental Perspective, Sean Robert Horrigan

Dissertations

The field of student conduct administration (SCA) in higher education has grown more complex. Researchers and practitioners have noted the tension for conduct officers between managing legal and policy compliance focused on the adjudication of cases and serving as restorative justice minded educators oriented towards student growth and learning. As a result, the knowledge required and the skills practiced by conduct officers are broad and varied. An overlooked dimension of SCA is how conduct officer development, especially as it relates to meaning-making, influences their experiences, knowledge, and skills. This study, utilizing a developmental theory known as “action logics,” explores how …

Using High-Fidelity Medical Simulation To Assess Critical Thinking In Medical Students, Lynda Daniel-Underwood

Dissertations

Problem

Graduating competent physicians is an imperative societal need. The development of critical thinking skills during medical school is important to meet this societal need and for the care of ill patients. Research shows this skill is key in decreasing medical errors, which in turn decreases cost. (Norman and Eva, 2010) Missing from the literature is a method to assess critical thinking in the setting of caring for the critically ill patient. This instrumental case study tests medical simulation as a method of assessing critical thinking, which incorporates all six competency domains, by looking at the assessment environment, summative patient …