Education Commons^™

Leaving College Without A Degree: The Student Experience At An Urban Broad Access Institution, Andrea Marie Garrity

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis seeks to understand how students who leave college without a degree, or non-completers, experience broad access institutions in an effort to shift our thinking from the student characteristics that predict college dropout to how broad access institutions can better serve students and improve graduation rates. To answer this question, I conducted interviews with former students who had recently attended a broad access institution and left without a degree. Results show that participants expressed internalized views of the traditional college student archetype, which was reinforced through their college experience. Further, participants encountered significant bureaucratic challenges and barriers, and expressed …

The Process Of Establishing A Blooming Chemistry Tool For Use In Undergraduate Chemistry Education And Research, Emryse Geye

Dissertations and Theses

While it is still common in college chemistry to assess student learning and skill with summative assessments, the CER community does not currently have a simple tool to determine and communicate whether an assessment is actually aligned with the outcomes of interest. In particular, as so-called evidence-based teaching practices and active learning strategies gain a foothold in college chemistry classrooms, the ability to communicate whether those (often labor-, cost-, and time-intensive) interventions are not only aligned with course outcomes, but also provide measurable benefit to students becomes more imperative. While college chemistry has made some strides in the area of …

Silos In Higher Education Institutions: Shifting From Organizational Phenomena To A Practical Framework For Equitable Decision-Making, Mandi Sue Mizuta

Dissertations and Theses

As higher education has evolved, administrative and support functions have become more stratified and specialized, creating institutions with complex and compartmentalized organizational structures known as silos. These silos have a detrimental impact on institutions, employees, and ultimately the student stakeholders that they serve. Silos within higher education administration support services are readily acknowledged anecdotally; however, robust research to describe this phenomenon and actionable resources to address it are lacking. This multi-paper dissertation explores the theoretical implications and practical applications for using collaborative, intentional approaches to address what is argued to be at its core is a matter of equity. The …

Higher Education Futures: The Transformative Potential Of Using Critical Foresights Practices & Arts Based Research In Our Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, And Incomprehensible (Bani) World, Sheila Christine Mullooly

Dissertations and Theses

Our institutional approaches to problems in the changing global landscape of internationalized higher education are being challenged, and many scholars call for new approaches for understanding and addressing the complex problems we face (e.g., la paperson). The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the need to make changes in how we approach our evolving problems and possibilities for human-centric transformation. This multi-paper dissertation is a call to action and proposes the use of new approaches to research and educational practice--specifically, critical futures studies and arts-based research. Design justice principles and participatory action approaches frame and motivate these possibilities. First, "A Public …

Perspectives Of Students With Intellectual And/Or Developmental Disability In College Inclusion Programs On Their Preparation For Working In Competitive Integrated Employment, Eva R. Blixseth

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a history of being isolated, marginalized, and excluded from employment that is competitive and integrated. Policy makers, disability advocates, and self-advocates have made efforts to center inclusive education and employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disability. Employment is a valuable outcome for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities exiting college inclusion programs (Lee & Colleagues, 2022). However, from 2017 through 2021, not all students with intellectual and/or intellectual disability exiting college inclusion programs were employed. This is concerning as O'Brien et al. (2019) pointed out students' primary goal for completing college inclusion programs …

Amplifying Arab American Heritage Language Students' Voices: A Multiple Case Study On Translanguaging Practices And Identity Negotiation In University Arabic Classrooms, Lina Gomaa

Dissertations and Theses

Little research has been conducted on Arab American students at universities and specifically, in the heritage language studies field. The experiences of Arab American heritage language (AAHL) students are significantly less examined than those of other heritage language students. Arabic language curricula and instructional practices in universities tend to privilege the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic over dialects, which marginalizes heritage learners' prior knowledge of the Arabic culture and its language, specifically Arabic dialects used in their home communities. These phenomena can create a non-affirming learning experience for these students. As such, in this study, I addressed these questions:

• To …

Cultural Capital And Community Cultural Wealth: A Study Of Latinx First Generation College Students, Affiong Eyo-Idahor

Dissertations and Theses

When compared to Blacks, Asians, and Whites, Latinxs have lower rates of educational attainment at every level from secondary education to advanced postsecondary degrees (Ryan and Bauman 2016). This study focuses on Latinx first generation college students and uses Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) theory to illuminate the ways this population navigates college through employing the strengths from their home community. The Latinx population is the largest ethnic or racial minority group in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau 2017. By 2060, they are expected to account for nearly 29% of the US population (U.S. Census Bureau 2017). While the …

Investigating The Role Of Phonological Awareness In The Training Of Phonetic Transcription With Slp Students, Jennifer Kay Binkley

Dissertations and Theses

A dissertation study was developed and completed to further explore the relationship between phonological awareness (PA) and phonetic transcription skills in undergraduate speech-language pathology students. A review of the literature provides gaps in knowledge which the proposal seeks to address. Based upon this literature review, the researcher compared PA skills of undergraduate students of various majors, to determine if there was a change in PA by taking a traditional phonetics course, and to explore phonetic transcription outcomes as the result of direct PA intervention with undergraduate SLP students. Quantitative analysis was used to answer three research questions, which were organized …

Encouraging Persistence Among Native American Nursing Students By Fostering Cultural Identity Development At A Predominantly White University, Valeriah Rose Big Eagle

Dissertations and Theses

There has been a calling to promote diversity in the healthcare workforce to alleviate the health problems that currently exist among the Native American population. Minorities are disproportionately represented in the nursing workforce (Beard, 2014), especially Native Americans. Increasing the number of Native American nurses in the healthcare workforce has been found to significantly reduce these health disparities (Eddie, 2018; Eschiti, 2004; Gebbie et al., 2003), supporting the need for more Native American nursing students to graduate from college. There has been little research regarding the implications of cultural identity experienced by Native American nursing college students in higher education …