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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

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2023

Higher education

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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Case Study Of Staff Perspectives On Job Satisfaction In The Community College Setting, Ashlyn Paige Wilson Dec 2023

A Case Study Of Staff Perspectives On Job Satisfaction In The Community College Setting, Ashlyn Paige Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This single embedded case study explores the influence of job satisfaction perceptions of employees in the roles of full-time support staff within the community college setting. The theory guiding this study is Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, which defines job satisfaction as having two sectors of components: the hygiene factors relating to extrinsic needs and the motivators relating to intrinsic needs. The outcomes for employees are linked to their motivation from satisfaction and dissatisfaction components, as well as their interpretation of values within this framework. The central research question is “How does the perception of job satisfaction components influence non-teaching, full-time employees …


Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Undergraduate Transfer Students At Faith-Based And Religiously Affiliated Institutions: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Amanda Nicole Davis Nov 2023

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Undergraduate Transfer Students At Faith-Based And Religiously Affiliated Institutions: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Amanda Nicole Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of undergraduate transfer students at faith-based and religiously affiliated institutions in the United States. Thus, in order to explore this phenomenon, the central research question directing the present study was: What are the lived experiences of undergraduate transfer students at faith-based and religiously affiliated institutions in the United States? The two theories guiding this study were Astin’s theory of involvement and Tinto’s theory of engagement, as they explain the relationship between institutional fit, involvement, and feelings of belonging. This study employed a transcendental phenomenological design and included …


Threats And Opportunities To Critical Thinking Development Students Encounter In A Christian College Environment: A Case Study, Mark Edward Schwartz Oct 2023

Threats And Opportunities To Critical Thinking Development Students Encounter In A Christian College Environment: A Case Study, Mark Edward Schwartz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single unit case study was to describe the efforts of Small Christian University (SCU) to develop critical thinking skills and dispositions amongst its students. The theory guiding this study was Fowler’s stages of faith theory, which explains the role of experiences and crises in developing faith, a process which parallels closely with the process of developing critical thinking skills. This study examined interviews with students, a focus group with faculty and documents recording assessments of completed student assignments to describe how effective SCU’s efforts were in developing students who could think critically and were disposed to …


Weak Organizational Culture In Higher Education Leads To Unmet Organizational Goals, Jennifer Willard Matthews Aug 2023

Weak Organizational Culture In Higher Education Leads To Unmet Organizational Goals, Jennifer Willard Matthews

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study explores the perception of weak organizational culture at one institution of higher education and the influence of weak culture on attaining organizational goals. The general problem addresses a weak organizational culture where department leaders operate independently of organizational policies and procedures, resulting in the inability to reach organizational goals. The study included fifteen survey responses from faculty and staff, two follow-up interviews, two observations of university-sponsored group activities, and current data from the 2021 Work and Well-Being Survey conducted by the American Psychological Association. Themes emerged from collected data and existing literature allowing the researcher to …


A Case Study On Persistence Among Financially Stressed College Students From Low-Income Families, Steven E. Mcdaniel Aug 2023

A Case Study On Persistence Among Financially Stressed College Students From Low-Income Families, Steven E. Mcdaniel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of low-income undergraduate students concerning the effects of financial stressors and the persistence to academically succeed at Anytown University. Anytown University is a large institution of higher education with over 100,000 total student enrolments, 46,438 undergraduate students and 154 programs of study. The theory supporting this study is Deci and Ryan’s theory of self-determination which is concerned with the motivation behind one’s choices and their goal to fill a psychological need. As applied to this study, the psychological need is the motivation to pursue the attainment of a …


Career Pathway Of Women In Higher Education Leadership: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Avel Shenika Fulp Aug 2023

Career Pathway Of Women In Higher Education Leadership: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Avel Shenika Fulp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative transcendental phenomenological study aimed to explore the real-life experiences of women serving in senior-level higher education leadership positions in higher education institutions. The theory guiding this study was the Self-Efficacy Theory, as presented by theorist Albert Bandura, was used as a theoretical guide, identifying if participant's self-efficacy could be or was affected by whether or not they were successful in the studied environment, along with how others within the environment contributed to that perception as imposed by their experiences. This research employed a qualitative method, with the design being a transcendental phenomenological study. Purposeful and snowball sampling identified …


The Lived Experiences Of Student-Parents In Higher Education Who Utilize The Childcare Program At Eastern Community College: A Phenomenological Study, Kindra Lawanda Moore-Smith Jul 2023

The Lived Experiences Of Student-Parents In Higher Education Who Utilize The Childcare Program At Eastern Community College: A Phenomenological Study, Kindra Lawanda Moore-Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of student-parents who use the Parents for Higher Education program at Eastern Community College. The theory that guided this study was McClusky’s theory of margin, which addresses the support and services adults need to accomplish their goals in life. This framework provided a connection that explained the importance of childcare subsidies and the needs met while attending classes for community college students—the transcendental phenomenology approach used. The setting for this study was the virtual platform Zoom. The study was conducted using 10 participants, all student-parents who participated in the …


Embracing Diverse Thinkers: A Case Study Examining The Graduation Rates From A High Autism College Student Population, Beverly Donovan Jun 2023

Embracing Diverse Thinkers: A Case Study Examining The Graduation Rates From A High Autism College Student Population, Beverly Donovan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to describe how Alpha College, a private college in the southeastern United States with high neurodiverse enrollment, generates uniquely high graduation rates for its autistic student population. The case study answers the following central question: CQ) How does Alpha College, a private college in the southeastern United States with high neurodiverse enrollment, generate high graduation rates for its autistic student population? The intrinsic case design focused on the case itself; Alpha College observes uniquely high graduation rates of autistic students. This study was guided by Blume and Singers' social stigma theory and …


Developing Strategies To Implement The D.W.S. Program Of Liberty University In South Korea, Taeseong Kim Jun 2023

Developing Strategies To Implement The D.W.S. Program Of Liberty University In South Korea, Taeseong Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study suggests practical strategies to implement the Doctor of Worship Studies program of Liberty University in South Korea. In the past several decades, Christian worship in South Korea has followed America’s footsteps of worship transition. As many Christian leaders in the U.S. have agreed on the urgency of worship renewal, so have Christian leaders in South Korea. True worship must be relational with the Triune God, which is the core of Christian worship. When worship lacks a rightful relationship with God, it becomes human-centered and ritualistic. Worship renewal must flow from the worship leaders to laypeople, and it is …


A Transcendental Phenomenological Investigation Of Perceived Spirituality And Persistence Of Jamaican Women Who Have Received A Tertiary Degree, Ashleigh Jacqueline Yearde Apr 2023

A Transcendental Phenomenological Investigation Of Perceived Spirituality And Persistence Of Jamaican Women Who Have Received A Tertiary Degree, Ashleigh Jacqueline Yearde

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the perceived spirituality and persistence for Jamaican women who had received a tertiary degree at schools in Jamaica. At this stage in the research, a tertiary degree was generally defined as all formal post-secondary education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools. The theory guiding this research was Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory. Constructivists believe that knowledge was informed by perspective and shaped by values. The theoretical framework for the study was based on the positive foundation of social support in the learning process. Moustakas’s …


How A Higher Education Aviation Faculty Perceived The Challenges Of An Online Emergency Transition During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Identifies Recommendations For Future Emergency Online Transitions, Victor Miguel Fraticelli Rivera Mar 2023

How A Higher Education Aviation Faculty Perceived The Challenges Of An Online Emergency Transition During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Identifies Recommendations For Future Emergency Online Transitions, Victor Miguel Fraticelli Rivera

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to discover the perceived challenges and identify future recommendations for emergency online learning transition as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic at a major aeronautical higher education institution in the southeast region of the United States. For this study, emergency online learning transition is defined as the period in which higher education faculty members were required to pivot to an online methodology in response to a global pandemic in the spring and fall academic semesters of 2020. The theories guiding this study are the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by Icek Ajzen and …