Digital Commons Network^™

Empowerment Agents: How Student Affairs Professionals Facilitate The Persistence Of Undocumented Students, Tiffany Paige

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated how student affairs professionals (SAPs) assist undocumented students in their designated institutional roles, and how their support empowers undocumented students to persist. This research sought to document and assess how student affairs professionals—who interact with undocumented students— identify and respond to the issues they face in their work. Built on the theoretical frame of social capital, and using a thematic analysis design set forth by Braun and Clarke (2012), the researcher interviewed seven SAPs and used a phenomenological approach to design the study and to collect and analyze the data.

Two findings and five corresponding themes …

Particular Pains, Particular Sufferings: Using Sista Circle To Explore Belongingness As A Factor Affecting The Academic Persistence Of Black, Women Doctoral Recipients At Predominantly White Institutions In The South, Jasmine Denise Thornton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand if belongingness, or the need to belong, is an inhibiting factor for Black women to the completion of doctoral programs, specifically at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) in the South. This qualitative study employs the Sista Circle methodology to discuss the lived experiences of Black female doctoral recipients from Southern PWIs. The Sense of Belonging Model and the Sista Circle Methodology is used to inform the experiences of Black women doctoral students in relation to their academic persistence and overall programmatic experience. The findings from this study can also provide insight for diversity, …

Transformers: The Relationship Between Instructor And Course Persistence Among Community College Students, Jairus L. Johnson

Dissertations

U.S. community colleges play a unique role in providing higher education opportunities for members of society and are often viewed as the gateway to a post-secondary education (Savi, 2011). Two-year colleges foster a robust mission that is supported by a variety of curricular functions that tailor to a diverse student population. Furthermore, through an open-door policy, admittance only requires a high school diploma or equivalent. The aforementioned factors have created inherent challenges associated with student persistence, institutional retention, program completion, and graduation rates among community colleges. As compared to universities, community colleges have lower graduation and retention rates.

Researchers suggest …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Dropout Prevention Practices And Their Implications For Intervention With Public School Students, Louisa Pollack

Dissertations

Schools face the dilemma of transforming both the trend of students dropping out of school and the associated negative socioeconomic outcomes into a positive path of persistence and school completion. Despite ongoing efforts of the federal and state government, as well as those of the local school districts, this problem continues to burden the educational system and society as a whole. The opinions of those with the experience of dropping out and returning to school are pertinent sources of information on educative practices that can help stem the dropout rate.

A survey was conducted to gather the opinions of students …

Drop Out Or Persist? The Influence Of Differentiated Instruction And Teacher Behavior On College Freshmen And Ged Students, Vera Strickland Robertson

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to provide information to school administrators about the impact differentiated instruction and teacher behavior have on students' decision to drop out of high school or persist. The ultimate goal of this study is to determine if a significant relationship exists between differentiated instruction, teacher behavior and dropout status.

The participants in this study included students enrolled in select colleges or GED programs. The ages of the participants were ages sixteen to twenty-one. The participants completed a questionnaire constructed by the researcher to gather data pertaining to participants' experiences with differentiated instruction and teacher behavior …

First-First Year Academically Underprepared Students' Judgments Of Their Perceived Academic Advising Needs And Preferences And Their Level Of Satisfaction And Intention To Persist At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Jennifer Lorean Ducksworth

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine which of the two dominant advising approaches, prescriptive (advisor focused) or developmental (relational focused), academically underprepared students preferred and to determine if this student population's advising relationships, experiences, and activities contribute to their level of satisfaction and their intent to persist at the participating university the following semester.

To read the full abstract of this dissertation, please click on "download" in the upper right-hand corner of this page.