Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Former Maine Adult Education Students Who Successfully Earned A High School Credential, Kayla Sikora

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Adult Learners Regarding Persistence In Two-Year Community Colleges, Michelle T. Webb Ed.D.

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with six parenting adult learners (ParentALs) enrolled in three public two-year community colleges in the United States. This study investigated the problem of a lack of understanding of the experiences of ParentALs enrolled in community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine how the lived experiences of ParentALs enrolled in community colleges may influence their persistence. Three themes emerged from the literature review and data analysis: the identity of the ParentAL, characteristics and intersectionality of factors, experiences, and perceptions that may influence ParentAL persistence in community college, …

Andragogy In Continuing Medical Education Development: A Case Study On The Perception Of Its Worth, Elizabeth H. Bennert

All Theses And Dissertations

Continuing medical education (CME) curriculum development is often staffed and developed with little exposure to teaching skill expertise and andragogy. This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of the skills needed for successful development of CME, learning from the experience of an international nongovernmental organization (NGO)’s first time developing an online CME course. The questions that guided this study were “What were the team’s perceptions of the skills and roles needed when first designing and developing a CME curriculum? and “How did the experiences of the team, when developing, delivering, and evaluating the program, determine their perceptions of the skills …

Examining The Delivery Methods Of Current Content And Curriculum For Recruit Police Officers, Daniel Barrancotta

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative-interpretive, phenomenological analysis study describes the lived experiences of police officers, their training programs and their educational relationships with academy instructors and field training officers. The focus was not on content material, but rather the delivery methods of the curriculum, in an attempt to provide training programs that improve transference of knowledge for increased learning and job preparedness. This research study showed that a lack of knowledge and understanding of andragogy for police academy instructors and field training officers is creating a limited learning environment for recruit police officers. Without the knowledge and ability to use better forms of …

Computer-Mediated Communication Of History Museums In The Midwestern United States: A Web Content Analysis, Heather Lynn Dialfredi

All Theses And Dissertations

Adult museumgoers have come to expect increased access to museum information and resources through computer-mediated communication (CMC). Current research suggests that museum websites can increase the desire to visit the museum physically. The purpose of this study is to investigate how small, medium, and large history museums in the midwestern United States communicate the value of digital experiences to adult museumgoers. This qualitative content analysis follows Pauwels’ (2012) Multimodal Framework for Analyzing Websites as Cultural Expressions. The data was collected from 16 history museum websites, then analyzed using MAXQDA. The data collected provides insight into the methods and language museums …

Surviving Higher Education: Retention & Persistence Through The Lens Of Psychological Survivorship, David R. Cartwright

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of students categorized as at-risk, non-traditional adult learners who persisted in pursuit of their higher education degree. These students demonstrated perseverance and grit when faced with challenges that might have caused them to drop out of school. The lived experiences of the participants are strongly linked to their identities as working professionals and adult-learners. Recent literature indicates that several theories and models have emerged on the concept of motivation as it relates to success in higher education. Research suggests that achievement is not solely based on cognitive …

The Transition Experience Of U.S. Veterans From Military Life To Higher Education, Mark Anthony Mckinney

All Theses And Dissertations

Transitioning from military service always has been an inevitable part of serving in the United States military. With the recent end of military operations in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, transitioning from military service and entering higher education has become commonplace. However, the lived experiences of United States military veterans transitioning from military service to higher education within the past five years are not clearly understood. Consequently, higher education institutions may not possess information necessary to assist U.S. Iraq and Afghanistan military veterans who transitioned from military service within the specified timeframe.

The purpose of this qualitative research study …

Competency Development In Community-Based Occupational Therapy, Sunny R. Winstead

All Theses And Dissertations

The aims of this study were: a) to discover which strategies community-based occupational therapists (OTs) find most effective for developing the competencies that have been identified as unique to community-based occupational therapy (OT) practice, b) to examine respondents’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their academic training and of current professional development resources, and c) to explore respondents’ suggestions for improving academic training and continuing education for OTs in community-based practice. Data collection was completed using an electronic survey that targeted members of the American Occupational Therapy Association who have experience in community-based OT. The survey was completed by 81 OTs …