Education Commons^™

The Upsides & Downsides Of College Athletics Within The Ncaa: An Analysis Of The Rules And A Personal Account Of The Power Of Resilience, Cassidy Evelyn Derda

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

For the past five years, I have been a Division I Women’s Basketball player under the National Collegiate Athletic Association. I have played at two different schools, I have spoken to numerous investigators and lawyers, and I am now on my third set of college basketball coaches. Most athletes that enter college have one set of four-five coaches during their four-five-year period, I have had thirteen. College basketball has presented countless challenges for me mentally and psychically. For a while I thought that the adversity that I was facing as a young woman playing a high level of athletics …

Implementing Proficiency-Based Learning In Vermont High Schools: How Administrators Support Teacher Sensemaking Of Education Reform, Andrew Jones

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The Vermont Educational Quality Standards, passed in 2014, require students to graduate high school based on proficiency not merely by the accrual of course credits. The deadline to implement this policy is 2020, and thus, high schools across Vermont are feverishly revamping their systems and structures to support this change. Like many reforms, teachers are at the forefront of putting this policy into practice. The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers experience the shift to implement proficiency-based learning practices in their classrooms and how administrators support teachers in making this transition.

Two Vermont high schools were selected …

Drive: My Motivation For Becoming A Holistic And Authentic Leader And Supervisor Of College Students, Alisha Ami Oguri Lewis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In sixth grade, I did an art project where I painted a self-portrait. I decided to paint myself looking in a mirror. On the right-hand side of the canvas was the back of my head. On the left-hand side was a reflection of my face looking back at me in the mirror. During one session with my art teacher, she looked at my painting and paused before asking, “what happened?” She paused again before continuing that at one point the painting was on the right track, implying since that point, something had gone terribly wrong. I mean what was looking …

Bhutanese Refugee Students: Their Perceptions Of High School And Challenges Of Accessing A Four-Year College Degree In The U.S., Hemant Tamang Ghising

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The recent trend of refugee resettlement in the U.S. has presumably shifted to a new and more hopeful life for refugees. However, refugees experience another phase of challenges once they resettle in the U.S. Their transition from a life of statelessness to that of the citizen in a developed country is a painful experience, yet life has improved economically, especially after years of living in poverty in a refugee camp. The fact that Bhutanese refugee parents choose to resettle in the U.S. is primarily motivated by their hopes for a better education for their children. The following qualitative research study …

Latino College Student Athletes As Nepantleras: Fostering Academic Success And Athletic Identity At Two Ncaa Division Ii Institutions, Carlos Enrique Vega

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Collegiate athletic programs at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Division II institutions in the United States serve a two-fold purpose. They offer aspiring

student athletes access to college and opportunities to play competitive college sports.

Consequently, student athletes at Division II institutions experience personal and

institutional pressures to compete for championships while achieving academic success.

Increasing demands on today’s college student athletes’ athletic participation and

performance has a multitude of consequences that could influence their academic

performance and success in college. Simultaneously, these institutions and athletic

programs are also witnessing another phenomenon – a transformation in their student

population. Latino …

Transformative Preparation: Measuring The Intercultural Competence Development Of Higher Education And Student Affairs (Hesa) Students And Exploring The Intercultural Learning Experience Across Assistantship Sites, Rafael A. Rodriguez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Today’s college student body reflects, among many things, the outcome of policies geared towards increasing access and diversifying the academy, efforts to recruit international students, the vast social, political, and economic disparities among marginalized populations, and the extreme cultural polarization of our times. Students on campuses have broad and individualized perspective, approaches, and values, which are culturally rooted, embedded within our socialization and often times conflict with the experiences of other students or the student affairs professionals tasked with supporting students. Student affairs practitioners must enter the field possessing a degree of intercultural competence, defined as an appropriate skillset and …

Online First-Generation Students: A Qualitative Study On Retention, David Michael Dearden

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Higher education institutions face several complicated and difficult challenges and one of those challenges, student retention, has been around for many years. Tinto (2006), a major researcher on college retention whose research has spanned over four decades, suggested that one of the most widely studied areas of higher education is student retention. Since the inception of higher education, institutions have explored and researched retention strategies to combat attrition. Many of the strategies and theories that address retention focus solely on the campus-based student. With the growth of technology, online education has become a new avenue toward earning a college degree, …

Mind The Gap: Preparing For The Future Leaders Of Small Private Colleges In New England, Jennifer Ann Sweeney Nicholls

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

At a time when the higher education as a whole is experiencing an incredible leadership turnover and a narrowing pipeline of prepared or willing leaders to step into these important roles, the industry is also experiencing more scrutiny than ever before, creating a challenging time for the leaders of these institutions. Small private colleges in New England, in particular, have their own unique set of complications, which makes finding the right kind of future leaders particularly important. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 14 small private college presidents amidst an incredibly unique set of factors which substantially complicate …

Culturally Responsive Adult Education For Non-Western Learners, Asma Ali M. Abunaib

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Although education theory in general includes important insights related to the relationship between multiculturalism and pedagogy, a critical analysis of what are considered culturally responsive western adult education methods, such as Experiential Learning Cycle & Dialogue Education (ELC) suggests significant adaptations should be made when applied in settings with non-western learners. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities of utilizing adult education methods as a framework in delivering learning opportunities in non-western settings or for non-western, new American communities in western settings. Specifically, the author discusses her experience in one Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Darfur, Sudan, presenting her …

Examining The Impact Of Undergraduate Study Abroad On Early Career Outcomes: A Mixed Methods Approach, Noah Goldblatt

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study examines impact of study abroad on early career outcomes at a professionally-focused northeastern private college. A mixed-methods sequential research design provides a thorough inquiry into the influence of study abroad on early career outcomes at this institution. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, The National Organization of College and Employer’s (NACE) First-Destination Survey data is analyzed to assess whether a study abroad experience has an impact on career outcomes. The quantitative results compare career outcomes for 2014, 2015, and 2016 graduates who have studied abroad (n = 523) and those who did not study abroad (n …