Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty Perspectives On Research Mentoring Across A Multi-Level Statewide Lsamp Alliance, Tokesha Warner, Shaniqua Nixon, Terrance Mcneil, Denise Green, John T. Robinson

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

In this, mixed-method exploratory sequential design study, we examined a multi-level state-wide mentoring program for underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined faculty perspectives on the factors involved in, and the impact of, mentoring minoritized students at the critical retention-to-graduation stage. Between 2020 and 2022, an online survey and two rounds of focus group interviews were conducted with faculty members at participating institutions. Data were analyzed using an iterative, thematic coding method. Analysis of the comments from faculty focus groups and a faculty survey revealed eleven themes that codified the faculty member’s perspectives on mentoring. …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of College Students' Experiences With College-Provided Mental Healthcare Services, Adrian M. Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand college students' perspectives on college-provided mental healthcare services. The framework guiding this study is the theory of planned behavior (TPB), developed by Fishbein and Ajzen. The TPB theory is based on attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intention. The central research question: What are college students' perspectives on college-provided mental healthcare services? The design of this qualitative study is hermeneutic phenomenology, a rigorous and well-established approach. A sample of twelve participants, carefully selected based on pre-determined criteria, was included in the study. The participants, a diverse mix of current …

Recruitment And Retention Of Black Faculty Women In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study, Gerald Keith Warmack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine Black Faculty Women's (BFW) lived experiences concerning recruiting and retention practices. The theory guiding this study was Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT acknowledges that racism is central and the norm in the educational system. In addition to CRT, Social integration theory plays a critical role in how BFW form relationships, participate in social activities, and integrate into higher education. This research project used a hermeneutical phenomenological research design for BFW’s recruitment and retention experiences. Data for this study was collected using individual interviews, letters of advice, and journal prompts. Data analysis …

Overcoming Barriers To Persistence: A Single-Case Study Of Student Veterans In Higher Education, Janet G. Hupel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic case study is to understand the lived experiences of student veterans as they overcome barriers to persistence at a small, faith-based institution of higher education in the South. The theory guiding this study is Pascarella’s student-faculty integration model, as it explains the relationship between the student veterans’ unique background characteristics and other educational experiences to the degree of integration with faculty on campus and, ultimately, their persistence in higher education. What are the experiences of student veterans as they overcome barriers to persistence in higher education? The setting for the study is a small, faith-based …

Investigating Mixed Effects Random Forest Models In Predicting Satisfaction With Online Learning In Higher Education, Jiaqi (Jackie) Shi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increasing prevalence and accessibility of online education. This trend has also introduced challenges for students, instructors, and institutions. This study examines factors affecting online course satisfaction, focusing on individual, instructor, and institutional level characteristics with clustered, separated train and test datasets across two terms. This study compares Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM), Non-clustered and Clustered Random Forest (RF & MERF) models to understand these impacts. This intention is to provide a comprehensive framework comparing traditional HLM with the latest developed MERF models while delving into the effectiveness of RF …

Pursuing Reciprocity In Engaged Scholarship Partnerships Using Community Sustainability Certification Programs, Elyzabeth W. Engle, Michele W. Halsell

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of sustainability certification programs at the local, state, and national level to highlight the use of policies, programs, and infrastructure to achieve sustainable development outcomes within communities. In this paper, we use examples from Penn State’s Sustainable Communities Collaborative to demonstrate how institutions with community-engaged scholarship programs can use these certification programs to enhance program operation and reciprocity by identifying projects, engaging new disciplines, and improving relevance.

University-Community Civic Collaboration: Reaching For Social Justice In University Partnership, Jessica T. Shiller

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

A community partnership between the Collins Academy, Jefferson, Texas, and the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, developed a plan to manage the 38-acre Port Jefferson History and Nature Center, located on Big Cypress Bayou. Students used knowledge of the resources, GPS (global positioning systems), ArcGIS 10.4, presentations, and posters to complete the project. The reflection and feedback with the community partners continued throughout the project and as guidance for future work. This partnership instilled in participating students the value of incorporating service learning into development of professional relationships for continued cooperation …

Researcher-Practitioner Collaborations: Applying Developmental Science To Understand Sport Participation And Positive Youth Development, Andrea Vest Ettekal, Lily S. Konowitz, Jennifer P. Agans, Richard M. Lerner

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

We report data from the first year of a three-year collaboration between a sport-based youth development program, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), and a university-based research institute. The theory of change of PCA was tested with youth athletes, representing multiple sport types (e.g., individual/team) and seasons (e.g., fall/winter), who completed self-report surveys indexing a key facet of positive youth development—character. Noting assets and challenges of such researcher-practitioner collaborations, we discuss the results of the first year of data derived from this collaboration and differences in their use to the researchers and practitioners. Using this collaboration as a sample case, we discuss …

Sustainable Campus Landscapes In The United States And China: A Comparative Analysis, Zhaofang Zhang, Jing Zhou, Deanna Schmidt, Kathleen Garland

The Geographical Bulletin

This paper explores landscapes of sustainability. Universities across the world have incorporated sustainability into their curriculum, research, infrastructure operation, and resource management. However, campus landscapes are relatively unexplored assets to promote university sustainability. As the physical embodiment of university values as well as an enduring legacy, campus landscapes offer the potential to integrate sustainability into the fabric of universities for generations to come. The paper presents findings from an empirical study of two universities: China T hree Gorges University, Yinchang City, Hubei province, China, (CTGU) and the University of Houston, Clear Lake, Texas, United States (UHCL). The research utilizes landscape …

Student Experiences With Self-Determination And Agency: Centering Disabled Voices Through Photovoice, Rebecca Boineau Smith Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Young adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) are less likely than young adults without disability to be employed, enrolled in postsecondary education, or live independently after high school (Lauer & Houtenville, 2017; Newman, et al., 2011). Self-determination, or the freedom to act as the primary causal agent in one’s life (Palmer & Wehmeyer, 1998), is a well-documented component of enhanced quality of life (Shogren et al., 2017) and a predictor of postschool success (Mazzotti et al., 2021; Test et al. 2009) for students with disabilities. People with IDD are less self-determined than their nondisabled peers, and often less self-determined …

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2023-2024, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY2024. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.

The Lived Experiences Of Educators Leveraging Educational Technology And Connectivism For Fostering Academic Achievement In Higher Education: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Cynthia T. Plueger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of educators at public universities in the southern region of the United States who leverage educational technology to enhance student engagement and improve academic achievement through the application of connectivism principles in learning environments. This study was guided by the connectivism theory, which highlights the significance of interconnected networks, contemporary knowledge, and the interrelatedness of information in digital higher education learning environments. The central research question was: How do educators at public universities in the southern region of the United States describe their lived experiences with leveraging …

Grounded In Liquidity: Writing And Identity In Third Space, Alicja Syska, Carina Buckley, L Heggie

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper argues that writing for publication has the potential to support the creation, negotiation, and stabilising of the professional identities of third space (Whitchurch, 2013) practitioners in higher education. Caught in the impermanence and unpredictability of ‘liquid life’ (Bauman, 2005), third space opens up unique opportunities in writing that afford its practitioners a means of building and sustaining identity. Third space expands academic writing beyond its normative constraints, creating a tension between the apparent permanence and solidity of writing and the liquidity that allows for the negotiation of meaning andidentity. As such, writing, particularly for dissemination, provides third space …

Supporting High School Students In Their Transition To College Through A Comprehensive College Prep Bootcamp, Brooke E. Baneck

Masters Projects

When transitioning from high school to college, many students struggle with increased academic rigor, time management, and lack of financial literacy, while also facing social and emotional difficulties such as homesickness and stress. Addressing these challenges holistically, this project outlines the Next Step: College Prep Academy, a pre-college bootcamp designed to enhance students' academic preparedness, social integration skills, emotional and psychological health, financial literacy, and cultural competency, particularly for first-generation and minoritized students. Grounded in theoretical perspectives, the bootcamp aims to equip students with essential skills and support systems to thrive in their first year of college and beyond.

A Qualitative Description Of Graduate Students’ Perceived Decline In Physical Activity From Undergraduate School, Kristin M. Jett, Bryce T. Daniels, Max Brigance, Jessica L. Passarelli, Erin Howie

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 17(5): 1038-1055, 2024. Many university students, especially graduate students, are experiencing poor physical and psychological health. Thus, universities are initiating programs like Exercise is Medicine-On Campus (EIM-OC) to promote positive physical activity behavior to improve physical and mental health for primarily undergraduate university students. However, the influences on physical activity when transitioning from an undergraduate to a graduate student are unknown. To explore perceptions of if and how the physical activity levels of graduate students changed from their time as undergraduate students while considering environmental and lifestyle factors. METHODS: Using a qualitative, phenomenological research design, …

Introduction To 16(3) 2024 And Special Issue: The Effect Of The Russia-Ukraine Conflict On International Mobility And Internationalization In Post-Soviet Eurasia And Beyond, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Wooyake Winyan: The Experience Of Three Native Women In Higher Education Leadership At 4-Year Institutions In The Midwest, Raven Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Native women in higher education have faced many challenges and disparities, specifically within 4-year institutions. This research used a qualitative method known as storytelling to identify ways of progression for Native women in higher education leadership while being supported by the theoretical framework of aspirational capital. Additionally, this knowledge is explained through cultural ways of storytelling, with hope of gaining perspective of Native female leadership and how this impacts Native communities within higher education. Through this research, it portrayed the experience of Native women in Higher education leadership which included their successes and challenges. Each participant shared their background of …

Bearing The Woken Bear: Kazakhstani Educators Making Sense Of The Russian Invasion In Ukraine And Its Consequences For Internationalization Of Higher Education In Kazakhstan

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

Education In Exile As A Hope-Making Practice: The Case Of Russian Higher Education Projects

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

Full Issue 16(3)

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Jacks Of All Hats: Role Complexity, Ambiguity, And The Experiences Of Short- Term Study Abroad Faculty

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Exposing The Pervasive Culture Of Whiteness At Predominantly White Institutions: A Narrative Analysis Of White Deans Of Students' Understanding And Role In Responses To Campus Racial Incidents, Jennifer Helen Reid

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Deeply embedded in U.S. higher education institutions is a culture of whiteness that benefits white students, staff, faculty, and administrators through racist policies, structures, and cultural norms designed to uphold whiteness. This culture not only minimizes the presence of racism, but also is pervasive on college campuses, where administrators often fail to recognize blatant racism and treat ongoing campus racial incidents as isolated events. Despite the frequency of racial incidents, campus responses are typically ineffective, failing to address the underlying institutional practices that reinforce white supremacy and further harm those affected. This study explored the experiences of white deans of …

Hired For Diversity And Onboarded For Assimilation: A Case Study Of Racial Battle Fatigue Among Student Affairs Practitioners Of Color, Kristina Hall-Michel

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed the need to understand the negative experiences of student affairs practitioners of color (SAPOCs) related to racial battle fatigue (RBF) and the accompanying need to explore how SAPOCs working at predominately white institutions (PWIs) experience RBF. The author conducted a multiple-case study with 10 SAPOCs, who served as individual cases, and used semi-structured interviews and document analyses of institutional websites. The conceptual framework for this study was framed by racialized organizations (Ray, 2019), campus racial climate (Hurtado et al., 1998), and RBF (Smith et al., 2007). Findings indicated that while the 10 participants worked at different PWIs …

Student Perceptions And Academic Performance When Taught With Multiple Active Learning Methods In A High Enrollment Undergraduate Human Physiology Course, Kate Ireton Walker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When instructing very large groups of students in science, it can be difficult to engage all students in the content and measure their understanding. A major unaddressed challenge in science instruction is how specifically to design and implement strategies that engender active learning particularly in high-enrollment undergraduate courses. Active learning, which represents a diverse set of strategies, may include student engagement as part of instruction through discussions, active movement, and application (Bernstein, 2018; Cavanagh, et al. 2016; Michael, 2006 & Wilke, 2003). This study was designed to provide data addressing the gap in the literature regarding how the continual implementation …

A Place To Rest My Soul: How A Doctoral Student Of Color Group Utilized A Healing-Centered Space To Navigate Higher Education, Jessica I. Ramirez

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Students of Color have historically faced explicit and implicit forms of discrimination and oppression in educational settings. Unfortunately, not much has changed over the decades as Students of Color continue to experience white supremacy and other systems of oppression. As Students of Color enter graduate school, there are often fewer Students of Color, making these educational settings isolating and hostile. These experiences often encompass white supremacist policies, practices, and remarks that negatively impact Students of Color. With this in mind and as someone who identifies as a Chicana who was once in a doctoral program, I questioned how doctoral Students …

From Classroom Interaction To Academic Success: Tracing The Mediating Role Of Effective Communication In Faculty-Student Dynamics, Nadia Dahmani, Wael Ali, Mohammed Aboelenein, Mohammad A.K. Alsmairat, Mursal Faizi

All Works

This paper aimed to determine the impact of faculty communication style, student proactiveness, and academic discipline on student academic performance and student-faculty relationship quality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) higher education context. This study also aimed to contribute to the literature by verifying the mediating impact of communication effectiveness between the selected factors. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the study sample comprised 193 university students, and it was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that academic discipline and the professor’s communication style enhanced communication effectiveness, whereas student proactiveness had a minimal effect. The …

The Perceptions Of Tennessee Public School Case Managers On Individualized Education Program Transition Planning And Their Role In Preparing 12th Grade Students For Postsecondary Education Disability Services, Robert A. Bartles

Ed.D. Dissertations

Few students with disabilities applied for postsecondary education disability services and, as a result, had lower graduation rates from four-year colleges than their non-disabled peers. The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to discover the perceptions of Tennessee public high school case managers regarding IEP transition planning and to discover their role in preparing 12th grade students with disabilities for postsecondary education disability services as minimal literature existed on the topic. I discovered four themes from coding questionnaire responses of 13 study participants. Most case managers (85%) relied on direct student input to create transition goals and perceived IEP …

An External Perspective On The Uem, Catherine Cronin

Group Reports

This report provides feedback on TU Dublin’s University Education Model (UEM) from an external perspective. The report details engagement with the UEM team over several months during the academic year 2023-24 and provides feedback on the model, including recommendations for dealing with potential obstacles to progress and implementation.

Undergraduate Students' Perceptions Of A Problem-Based Learning Biomechanics Module, Laurence Protheroe, Luciana De Martin Silva, Celeste Wilkins

ISBS Proceedings Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore student perceptions of problem-based learning and provide recommendations for practice. Five students enrolled on a 2^nd year sports biomechanics module at a UK institution participated in semi-structured focus groups at the mid- and endpoints of the module. Thematic analysis, with an inductive focus, identified themes related to successes, challenges and recommendations. Successes included intellectual development, teamwork and inclusivity. Challenges included uncertainty, engagement and retreat in intellectual development. Recommendations were integration of some traditional methods and choice of assessed problems. Educators can be confident that problem-based approaches can develop desired skills for …

Exploring Student Veterans Barriers, Alexandra Brandriff

Dissertations

The student veteran population in higher education is a unique group of individuals with different skills and life experiences not typically found among traditional students. Through a comprehensive analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, this study explores the complex challenges that student veterans face in higher education. It aims to explore the challenges, barriers, and support programs experienced by student veterans throughout their higher education journey, as well as compare the graduation and retention rates of student veterans and traditional students.

The researcher first gathered and analyzed qualitative data from student veterans’ responses to a survey utilized to gain their …