Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Experiences Of African American Female Students In Engineering: A Narrative Literature Review, Anissa Guerin, Phd

Tapestry: Journal of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Education

Abstract

This narrative literature review delves into the experiences of African American female students in engineering, addressing their persistent underrepresentation in the field despite advancements in postsecondary education. By examining a broad range of research, the study explores the unique challenges faced by these students and investigates tools for their persistence and degree completion. The theoretical framework draws from intersectionality theory, emphasizing the intersecting identities of race and gender in shaping these experiences. Methodologically, a narrative literature review approach was employed, facilitating a comprehensive analysis of existing scholarship. Data collection involved rigorous criteria focusing specifically on empirical research or original …

The Persistence Of African American Doctoral Students And Graduates From Or In Stem Programs: A Transcendental Phenomenology Study, Tanisha Johnson Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the persistence efforts for African American doctoral science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students or graduates. The theory guiding this study is Tinto's theory of student departure with a focus on the model of student persistence as it lays the foundation for how students persist to degree completion. The following questions guided this study: What lived experiences have helped African American current doctoral students or graduates persist in a STEM program? What challenges have African American graduate or current doctoral students experienced while completing a STEM degree program? What strategies …

Persistence Of Female Faculty In Stem, Andrea Constantinou

Dissertations

The lack of women entering certain STEM fields impacts female representation in research faculty, teacher faculty, and leadership positions in higher education. Through a narrative inquiry methodology utilizing the theoretical paradigms of self-determination theory and relational autonomy, this study extended understanding of the factors that motivate persistence for women in certain STEM fields. While prior research focused on understanding the barriers to retention, this study sought to identify the factors motivating retention for women in certain STEM fields. The results of this study contribute to understanding the motivating factors that influence a woman’s persistence in STEM. The data gathered from …

First In My Family: Overcoming Obstacles And Utilizing Resources To Successfully Complete The Educational Journey, Milana Tarbuk Migic

Dissertations

First-generation college students encounter many hardships when trying to persist throughout their educational journey. They are expected to be successful in navigating their careers, family life, and school – all without anyone else’s experience to reference. When a student is the first in their family to go to college, they are expected to succeed with a lack of understanding the process. This qualitative study explores what assets first-generation students have and apply in their college experience that contribute to their persistence. This research is guided by Dr. Tara Yosso’s Cultural Wealth Model which examines many forms of cultural capital that …

From Doom To Bloom: The Effects Of Pre-Major Coaching On Undecided Student Persistence, Lisa Dianne Wycoff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student retention is a persistent dilemma in higher education because it is how student success is measured. Universities invest resources in retaining vulnerable populations and provide additional support measures because they are most at risk of dropping out. The premise of this study is that students who enter college without a major are considered vulnerable, as they are highly prone to drop out. Numerous studies have found that entering college with an “unknown/undecided” status negatively impacts retention, well-being, and motivation due to a lack of clearly defined educational goals. However, students and families often lack adequate information about the importance …

Unseen Battles, Academic Frontlines: The Impact Of Military Experience On Student Veteran Persistence In Private Higher Education, Julius W. Moore Ii

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how ten student veterans persist after entering private, 4-year institutions of higher education during or following their military service. The study’s conceptual framework, drawing from Vacchi’s Model of Student Veteran Support (2011, 2013), employs a narrative approach to spotlight the varied backgrounds and identities of the student veteran population. This research uncovers significant findings through the restorying of participants’ narratives and employing multiple rounds of coding—including deductive, open, in vivo, and process coding. These findings highlight the critical role of Adaptation to Academic Life, which emphasizes the veterans’ ability to adjust …

The Experiences Of Low-Income Students Focusing On An Online Learning Environment In Southwest Georgia: A Hermeneutical Phenomenology, Jayda M. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of low-income students in an online learning environment and how they are socially and academically integrated at an institution in southwest Georgia. Tinto’s 1997 revised student integration model and theory on how institutions must socially and academically integrate students to improve students’ persistence is to guide this research. The participants for this study are ten low-income students who participated in the data collection tools, which are surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews. The participants expressed their experiences, barriers, social and academic integration, and persistence in an online learning …

(In)Effectiveness Of Summer Bridge Programs Among First-Year Low-Income, First-Generation College Students, Joy N. Emmanuel

The Vermont Connection

Summer bridge programs have become a widely adopted strategy in four-year institutions to address the unique challenges faced by first-year, low-income, first-generation college students. These programs aim to enhance academic preparedness, foster a sense of belonging, and improve retention rates. However, this paper critically examines the effectiveness of summer bridge programs in achieving these goals. Drawing on a review of existing literature, it becomes evident that while summer bridge programs offer certain benefits, they may not be as effective in promoting holistic success, persistence, and retention among this specific group of students. The analysis highlights several limitations, including a limited …

Resiliency, Mindset, And Academic Performance: A College Athlete's Perspective, Trisha C. Giacomazzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this qualitative case study was the low graduation rates self-reported by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics institutions when compared to the general student population at a small Christian university in the Southern United States. In this study, I sought to acquire a deeper understanding of the degree to which an athlete’s mindset and psychological resilience influenced their perseverance and academic achievement on their path toward graduation. Utilizing semistructured interviews as the primary data collection method, I used purposive, convenience, and snowball selection methods to enlist a total of 10 participants from a pool of 52 …

Help Or Hindrance: Latinx College Graduates’ From Stem Majors Perceptions Of University Culture Following Vincent Tinto’S Theoretical Framework Of Student Persistence, Carmen Gonzalez, Carmen Lucia Gonzalez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Latinx college graduates who have achieved STEM degrees perceive the culture of their university and the STEM program they were enrolled in as supporting or not supporting a Latinx college student’s persistence to graduation.

Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological approach was the methodology selected for this study. This phenomenological research captured and described the lived experiences of study participants through interviews and artifacts.

Findings: The findings of this research illustrate (a) Research participants all perceived that creating relationships with STEM program faculty was important in supporting them toward degree completion, …

Remotely Close: A Phenomenological Exploration Of How Online Education May Impede Academic Persistence And Social Integration, Daniel Ryan Day

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The aim of this transcendental phenomenological study is to define and describe the lived experiences of those who have taught and taken online classes at post-secondary Assemblies of God schools. Tinto’s theory of academic persistence and social integration served as the guiding theory of the study, as it was an indispensable part of exploring how online education may impede academic persistence and social integration between students and professors. The central question of the study deals with how online educators may improve academic persistence and social integration between their students and themselves by applying Tinto’s model of integration. By strategically utilizing …

Persistence Of First-Generation College Students During Campus Closure, Ruby Lin

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, which caused the largest education disruption in world history. Prior to the pandemic, first-generation college students were considered an underrepresented and vulnerable population at four-year institutions (Engle & Tinto, 2008; House et al., 2020). This study sought to capture the lived experiences of seven first- generation colleges students at a four-year, private institution in Southern California who had to unexpectedly leave their university community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants recount their experiences of having to leave their university campus suddenly without direct access to resources provided …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Factors That Contribute To Persistence In Online Doctoral Programs For Students With Learning Disabilities Or Adhd, Jerry L. Pitts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the factors that contributed to persistence in online doctoral programs for students with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The theory guiding this study was Tinto’s theory of student persistence, as it suggested the more students were academically and socially integrated into their institution, the more likely they were to persist in their studies. The Central research question of this study is, “What are the factors that contribute to persistence in online doctoral programs for students with LD and ADHD?” Participants in this study consisted of seven …

Student Success Through First-Year Experience Programs: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Jeffrey Scott Downs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the persistence and retention after the First Year Experience (FYE) program for second-year college students at Northern Nevada College. The theory guiding this study is Astin’s student involvement theory which links student success in college to the level of involvement students have at their academic institution. This study explores how first-time full-time students being part of the FYE program have been encouraged to be involved at their institution on several levels. In this transcendental phenomenological study, data were collected using interviews, a focus group, and journaling prompts. After the data were …

Diverse Hedge Funds, Yan Lu, Narayan Y. Naik, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hedge fund teams with heterogeneous educational backgrounds, academic specializations, work experiences, genders, and races, outperform homogeneous teams after adjusting for risk and fund characteristics. An event study of manager team transitions, instrumental variable regressions, and an analysis of managers who simultaneously operate solo- and team-managed funds address endogeneity concerns. Diverse teams deliver superior returns by arbitraging more stock anomalies, avoiding behavioral biases, and minimizing downside risks. Moreover, diversity allows hedge funds to circumvent capacity constraints and generate persistent performance. Our results suggest that diversity adds value in asset management. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the …

Mentoring: The Factors That Contribute To Persistence To Graduation For African American Male K-12 Educators In Predominantly White Institutions (Pwi) In Missouri, Paula Miller

Adult Education Research Conference

This study investigated how mentoring enabled African American male K-12 educators to persist and obtain master’s degrees in predominately White institutions (PWIs) in Missouri.

Success Beyond Access: Examining Institutional Barriers To Persistence And The Supports Needed By Nontraditional Students Participating In A Tuition-Free Community College Program, Amanda K. Roeher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This research study examined the experiences of nontraditional community college students attending through a tuition-free grant. The intent of the study was to explore the student identified barriers to degree persistence and the student support services nontraditional students recognize as being beneficial towards their academic journey. This qualitative case study was guided by three research questions and utilized Bean and Metzner’s (1985) Nontraditional Student Attrition Model as a guide for study design and analysis. Data collection consisted of student interviews and institutional document collection. Data analysis explored themes related to nontraditional student motivations for attendance, persistence factors, and student support …

From Program To Practice: Purpose, Empowerment, And Persistence In Doctoral Education, Laura Beasley, Heather Biedermann, Davidson L. Blanchard, Danilo Lj. Bojic, Erin Carter, Matthew J. Flugum, Sadie Gunnink, Megan L. Hansen, Martha G. Haugerud, Elizabeth Herzog, Matt Howard, James E. Hu Gammon, Yanmei Jiang, Jenna K. Ladd, Patrick W. Leeport, Katey R. Leverson, Regina Mustafa, Lindsey M. Reishus, Kelli Snyder, Ixchell L. Tolentino, Kari Vollrath, Stephanie Walker, A. Brooke Boulton, Joel J. Traver, Steven M. Baule

Education Doctorate Books

The book From Program to Practice: Purpose, Empowerment, and Persistence in Doctoral Education is a collection of graduate student writings from the 2022 summer Education Doctorate Residency at Winona State University.

"As practitioners in education and adjacent fields embark upon their journeys toward earning a doctorate, they soon realize the importance of this collection’s theme: the intersection of purpose, empowerment, and persistence (PEP). These concepts prove critical to a student’s success at all stages of the doctoral process, from program admission, to topic exploration, to graduation. The essays in this collection explore how students define, identify, and leverage “PEP” as …

Brightpoint Community College: Effective Enrollment Anti-Melt Strategies, Michael J. Forder, Ismael J. Betancourt Velez, Adrian Petway, Juan Espinoza

Doctor of Education Capstones

Community colleges strive to provide affordable and accessible educational opportunities to all. Tuition revenue plays a significant role in college operating budgets and is critical for supporting academic functions. Student dropout threatens the fiscal security of community colleges while running counter to the mission of educating communities. This exploratory case study set out to understand the student melt issue due to non-payment at Brightpoint Community College taking place between enrollment and the start of classes. The research team aimed to understand how students engage with the current payment process, what are the underlying factors leading to missed payments, and what …

Examining Women’S Persistence In Stem: A Mixed Methods Study Of Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, And Sociocultural Influences On Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Heather Midori Saigo

Theses and Dissertations

Several decades of effort have improved the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but the gender gap remains. Researchers have found diverse reasons for women’s underrepresentation in STEM, but less is understood about factors supporting persistence. This study’s purpose was to understand how women persist in STEM, through the lens of self-determination theory. Self-determination theory posits that persistence improves when one’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are satisfied. This embedded mixed methods study provides evidence of how autonomy, competence, relatedness, and sociocultural factors influence women’s persistence in STEM. Using network and snowball sampling, the researcher …

Understanding The Process Of Persistence In Non-Traditional Adult Education Students, Stephanie Nuttall Patton

Theses and Dissertations

In the state of Utah, adult education students often leave their programs before 100 hours of instruction. This can leave students without the necessary academic knowledge, skills, and credentials to move forward with postsecondary education and training or employment opportunities. This phenomenological study examines the key factors of persistence in non-traditional students ages 25 and over in an urban adult education program who continued beyond 100 hours of instruction. Fourteen students were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol to identify factors that caused them to stay in an adult education program. The interviews with students examined dispositional, institutional, situational, and …

Self-Efficacy, Locus Of Control, And Their Effect On Online Returning Students' Graduation, Matthew Dean Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to understand the factors that affect returning students' ability to complete their degrees through online degree programs. Logistic regression was used to determine which factors had a significant relationship with persistence to graduation and how they contributed to the odds of students graduating. The findings show that academic locus of control and academic self-efficacy had a significant positive relationship with returning student persistence to graduation, with the locus of control contributing to the odds of graduation more than self-efficacy. Additionally, the amount of time between the student's initial dropout and subsequent return to complete …

The Prediction Of Grade Point Average From The Linear Combination Of Persistence Factors For Hispanic College Students, Laurel Lucy Mo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative predictive correlation study was to address the lack of research regarding the impacts of persistence factors on the educational outcomes of Hispanic college students. The study was a predictive correlation design with a criterion variable of grade point average (GPA). Predictor variables were the persistence factors of institutional commitment, degree commitment, academic integration, social integration, advising effectiveness, collegiate stress, financial strain, scholastic consciousness, academic efficacy, career integration, and academic motivation. The study setting was a two-year public community college serving a county with a population of 218,000 in Northern Arizona. A college persistence and academic …

The Perceptions Of Second-Year, First-Generation Minority Students Regarding The Influence Of Avid Mentoring On Students’ Retention, Nisha Mary Mathews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increase in diversity, institutions continue to struggle to provide, retain, and graduate students of color to the same degree as their counterparts (Banks & Dohy, 2019). The purpose of this narrative qualitative research study was to examine the perceptions of second-year, first- generation minority college students regarding the influence of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on their persistence and academic achievement. The study was framed by Swail’s (2004) geometric model of student persistence and achievement, aimed to identify the cognitive, social, and institutional factors contributing to student retention. The following questions guided the study: (1) What …

Comparative Analysis Of Teacher Effects Parameters In Models Used For Assessing School Effectiveness: Value-Added Models & Persistence, Merlin J. Kamgue

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Longitudinal measures for students have become increasingly popular to estimate the effects of individual teachers and schools. Value-added models are one of the approaches using longitudinal data to evaluate teachers and schools. In the value-added model (VAM) literature, many statistical approaches have been developed and used to estimate teacher or school effects on student learning. This study opted to use a Bayesian multivariate model for evaluating teacher effects. The generalized persistence models can handle longitudinal data, not vertically scaled, allowing for a below-par teacher’s effects correlation across test administrations. This study first generated longitudinal students’ test score data and used …

Motivation In Student Retention: A Phenomenology Of Non-Traditional Undergraduate Students In Online Learning, Jasmine Monique Reynolds

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to understand the experiences of non-traditional undergraduate students taking online courses at a public or a private university in Virginia. The self-determination theory, which guided this study, explained the motivated behaviors of intrinsic and extrinsic needs that affect the determination in non-traditional students completing a task. Self-determination theory provided the theoretical framework to answer the central research question for this study as well as the sub-questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of non-traditional students while taking online courses at a public or private university in Virginia? (2) What influences non-traditional students …

Factors Related To Online Doctoral Program Retention And Completion Rates: A Phenomenological Study, Paula Rae Dietz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand doctoral students’ experiences participating in an online doctoral program at a university. The study was conducted to answer the central research question: What are the experiences of online doctoral students who attended a program requiring a dissertation? Sub-questions included: (1) Among doctoral candidates in online degree programs, what are the perceived barriers to completing the dissertation? (2) In what ways do online doctoral candidates think the barriers to the dissertation component could be eliminated? The theories guiding this study are Tinto’s (1994), theory of student departure and Bandura’s (1997) theory …

A Phenomenological Study That Examines The Perseverance Of Young Single Mothers Who Have Earned A College Degree, Christine Marie Kirkpatrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand perseverance in young single mothers who have earned a college degree. The theory guiding this study is Duckworth’s theory of grit since many students who complete undergraduate degrees experience barriers related to the components of grit. Participants for this study were single mothers who have completed a college degree from an institution of higher learning in central Pennsylvania by the age of thirty. Data for the study were collected utilizing one-on-one interviews, personal timelines, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using Moustakas’ data analysis processes, including horizonalization, reduction, and …

Policy And Leadership Accountability On Black Special Education Teacher Persistence, Brittany M. Holmes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a persistent shortage of qualified special education teachers in schools across the country. This issue is exacerbated by the need for special education teachers of color who can help serve the disproportionate number of minority students in schools. Over time, researchers and government entities, alike, have considered ways to increase the recruitment and retention efforts of Black teachers However, given the lack of investigation regarding the needs of Black teachers in special education and what encourages their persistence, efforts to increase representation have been unsuccessful. For this reason, using a qualitative methodology, the purpose of this study is …

(Re)Envisioning Factors Contributing To Black Men’S College Success: An Ecological And Critical Reflection Using Photovoice, Collette Brown Rogers

Dissertations

This research uses modified photovoice combined with an ecological and antideficit approach to amplify the voices of Black men who have completed college degrees. The study explores the question: What factors contribute to college completion for Black men? Using a qualitative approach and the Ethos platform to collect images, photo captions, and critical reflection data from a purposive sample of five Black men. Data analysis included inductive and deductive coding, data organization within the ecological systems, and member checking to validate the findings. The study acknowledges the unique challenges Black men face in pursuing higher education. It emphasizes the importance …