Education Commons^™

The Student-Athlete Leadership Academy Experience: A Case Study, Hannah M. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to advance the understanding of how leadership education affects student-athletes interpersonally, as athletes, and as students while providing insight into the importance of leadership development for institutions and athletic departments for student-athletes who participate in a yearlong leadership program. The purpose of this study is to explore how a yearlong leadership development program influenced the personal and leadership growth and development of student-athletes during the 2020-2021 academic year. Two research questions guided the present study: How does the Student-Athlete Leadership Academy curriculum and experience contribute to student-athletes’ progress through the theory on leadership identity development and understanding …

School Counselors’ Lived Experiences In Supervision, Leigh Bagwell

Doctoral Dissertations

Supervision for practicing school counselors is integral to their professional growth and development (ASCA, 2019a). This is delivered through three modes of supervision as administrative, programmatic, and clinical with researchers identifying administrative as the most prevalent mode of supervision delivered as evaluation by school administrators (Perera-Diltz & Mason, 2012). However, school counselors have stated that they want access to programmatic and clinical supervision (Sandifer et al., 2019). Derived from a synthesis of the related literature, a Suite of Supervision (SoS) was proposed that integrated the three modes, identified appropriate supervisors, and provided focus areas for professional growth and development through …

The Effect Of Adolescent-Parent Congruence On The College-Decision Making Process Of Rural Appalachian Youth, Anna Lora Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between adolescent-parent congruence on the SCCT variables of college-going self-efficacy beliefs, college outcome expectations, and college decision-making in rural Appalachian youth. The study addressed three main research questions: What are the typical levels of adolescent-parent congruence, college-going self-efficacy, and college outcome expectations of rural Appalachian youth? How are college-going decisions impacted by the level of adolescent-parent congruence, college-going self-efficacy beliefs, and college outcome expectations of rural Appalachian youth? and How do rural Appalachian high school students say that adolescent-parent congruence impacts their college decisions? Participants in the study were high …

Experiences Of Professional School Counselors With Children Of Incarcerated Parents: A Case Study, Emily Courtney Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences of professional school counselors (PSCs) with children of incarcerated parents (CIP). The study addressed three research questions: In what ways do PSCs conceptualize the needs of CIP? In what ways do PSCs work with CIP? and How do PSCs experience barriers in their work with CIP?

An instrumental case study design (Stake, 1995) was used to consider the experiences of PSCs in a single school district in a Southeastern state. Data sources included interviews with fifteen PSCs, observation of PSC professional development, and document review of policies and …

Stress, Coping, And Well Being Of African American College Women: A Grounded Theory Study, Christine R. Hannon

Doctoral Dissertations

African American women are a rapidly growing population on college campuses. Though enrollment trends suggest an increase in African American women’s pursuit of educational attainment, they face unique challenges and obstacles (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). Researchers have noted that stressful life events have detrimental effects on the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of college students (Greer & Brown, 2011; Reynolds, Sneva, & Beehler, 2010; Hall et al., 2006; Larson, 2006; Andrews & Wilding, 2004; Nonis et al., 1998; Shapiro et al., 1998; Cohen & Herbert, 1996; Van Eck et al., 1996). Research focused on the unique challenges of …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Athletic Satisfaction And Student Adaptation To College, Brian C. Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

Research on the experience of student-athletes at the collegiate level suggests that they may face challenges and hurdles in adjusting to college differently than those faced by students of the general student population. Additionally, research on student satisfaction suggests that a student’s satisfaction has an impact on the academic experience and retention of students, while research on athletic satisfaction suggests a relationship exists between athletic and academic satisfaction for student-athletes. However, it remains unclear whether there is a positive or negative relationship between the experiences of adjustment to college and athletic satisfaction of a student-athlete.

The purpose of this study …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Site Supervisor Self-Disclosure: A Shared Experience, Jeffrey R. Sweeney

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined supervisor and supervisee perceptions of the purpose for using supervisor self-disclosure as an intervention in the counseling supervision process while also looking at supervisor and supervisee perceptions of the effects these disclosures have on the supervisee. The participants in this study were school counseling site supervisors and their supervisees enrolled in internship in school counseling at a CACREP accredited land-grant university in the southeastern United States. This study employed a collective case study design using multiple cases as sources for investigating the perspectives of both members of the supervisory dyad regarding the shared experience of a supervisor …

African American Oral Histories Of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Public Schools During The Early Days Of Desegregation, 1955 – 1967, Lorena B. Whipple

Doctoral Dissertations

Many traditional historical texts of the United States are missing the voiced presence of African Americans. Existing historical texts concerning desegregation in the South, and particularly in Tennessee, are missing African Americans’ experienced perspectives during racial desegregation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The intention of this dissertation is to use oral history as a methodology to document the memories of seven African Americans who participated in the racial desegregation of Oak Ridge, Tennessee public schools. Critical race theory is the interpretive lens used to analyze the interviews. The oral historical accounts contained in this study suggest African Americans have a unique …

Understanding The Career Development Of Underprepared College Students, Amber Nicole Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the career development of underprepared college students through a framework of Relational Career Theory. Demographic information was reported for the population to help better understand these students. Specifically, the constructs of family influence, locus of control, and career decision-making self-efficacy were explored as they relate to perceived success in college. Finally, gender differences for each construct were also examined. The demographic information collected supports reported statistical information about this group in that students of a minority status and first-generation college students were overrepresented in the population. No significant relationship between the RCT …

Perceptions Of Political, Academic, And Corporate Leaders: Higher Education Accountability In Georgia, Leslie Gene Fout

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Georgia political, academic, and corporate leaders’ perceptions of higher education accountability. A case study design was used to gain in-depth information. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants.

The findings of the study included the following:

1. Nearly every participant believed the mission and purpose higher education involved providing students with the skills and abilities needed to obtain gainful employment, and thereby make a positive impact on the economic development of the state of Georgia.
2. Approximately half of the participants believed higher education should cultivate an engaged citizenry.
3. No consensus was …

A Case Study Of Two Exemplary Black Cultural Centers In Higher Education, Demetrius D. Richmond

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Despite their long-standing history and contribution to the success of Black students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), many Black Cultural Centers (BCCs) face uncertain futures, and others do not. Some BCCs have closed, some have been transformed in name and mission, and some have persevered and have become "exemplar" centers. These exemplary centers have been expanded and given more responsibility and resources by their institutions, and are clearly not feeling a threat to their identity or future. In a time when so many BCCs at PWIs are under threat, what is it about some centers that allows them to …

Everyone’S Doing It. Or Are They? Understanding Student Affairs Assessment Practices At Small Private Colleges, Jonita Denise Ashley-Pauley

Doctoral Dissertations

Reports from national organizations and student affairs organizations have strongly suggested student affairs professionals engage in ongoing, comprehensive assessment of how their programs affect student learning (ACPA, 1996; ACPA & NASPA, 1997; Keeling, 2004). In terms of assessment and how it should be conducted, scholars have provided clear guidelines for the conduct of such assessment. However, to date, only one study has looked at assessment practices in student affairs programs; and that study was of three large public institutions whose student affairs programs were determined to have exemplary practices (Green, Jones, & Aloi, 2008). To date, no studies have focused …

Career Development And Employment Concerns Of Employment-Seeking Students With Psychiatric Disabilities, Sarah Charlotte Helm

Doctoral Dissertations

Although some literature chronicles the career development of college students with other types of disabilities, students with psychiatric disabilities have been practically invisible in research focused on this topic. Yet evidence suggests that the number of students with documented psychiatric disabilities attending institutions of higher education is on the rise. Thus, the purpose of the study was to describe the career development and employment concerns of employment-seeking students with psychiatric disabilities.

A qualitative research design was used to gain in-depth information from the perspective of students with psychiatric disabilities, specifically case study. The participants were seven undergraduate students from three …

Decolonial Multiculturalism And Local-Global Contexts: A Postcritical Feminist Bricolage For Developing New Praxes In Education, Katharine Matthaei Sprecher

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a conceptual bricolage that explores complex, reflexive, and interrelated dimensions of educational praxes. My work is grounded in the assertion that the ever-changing, local-global nature of contemporary societies requires new approaches to curricula, pedagogies, policies, and practices in U.S. schools to meet the challenges and opportunities of a global era. Presenting my research and findings as four articles, I begin with a dialectical analysis of theoretical and pedagogical literatures to develop an adaptable framework for decolonial multicultural education. In Article 1, I demonstrate how this framework synergizes aspects of social reconstructionist and critical multicultural, global, and …

Personality Traits And Career Decidedness: An Empirical Study Of University Students, Ryan M. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

Research on vocational behavior has made progress in identifying broad personality traits associated with career indecision; however, important questions remain unanswered about the temporal stability of relationships between broad personality traits and Career Decidedness (CD), and about the role of narrow personality traits as predictors of CD, both of which were addressed in this longitudinal field study. A total of 2,046 undergraduate students completed an online personality inventory and CD questionnaire. A sub-group (N=267) responded to a follow-up questionnaire seven months later. Results indicated, as hypothesized, that CD correlated positively with the broad (Big Five) personality traits, openness, conscientiousness, and …

“Holla If You Hear Me”: A Conversation With Black, Inner-City Youth On Career Preparedness Programs, Theressa N. Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study specifically addressed; how vocational preparedness programs effect the career aspirations of Black youth, within the context of the Middle Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America’s Exploring program. The goal of this research is to represent Black youth participating in a vocational preparedness program. Interviews, journals, and rich, thick descriptions are utilized in this work.

Using the lens of narrative inquiry and cultural studies, I hoped to further the field of career development through the experiences of some of its key players, African American youth. Within the context of their stories five major themes surfaced around the ideas: …

The Operationalization Of The Doctrine Of In Loco Parentis: The Administrative Council Of The University Of Tennessee In The Early 1920s And 1930s, Bryan Franklin Coker

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe how the doctrine of in loco parentis was operationalized at the University of Tennessee during the early 1920s and 1930s, through analysis of the minutes of the University of Tennessee Administrative Council, the administrative body charged with the major decisions concerning student life for the University. The phenomenon under examination in this single, descriptive, holistic case study design was the operationalization of the concept of in loco parentis, and the case was the University of Tennessee during the early 1920s and 1930s.

The study identified the various issues with which the Administrative …

Are Residence Life Professionals Culturally Competent? An Exploration Of The Perceived Multicultural Counseling Competence Of Residence Life Professionals New To The Field, Kelli J. Cummings

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the multicultural counseling competence among new residence life professionals by using the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS: Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Riger, & Austin, 2002) and a demographic questionnaire created by the researcher. Results included statistically significant positive relationships between participants’ completion of multicultural counseling graduate coursework and multicultural knowledge, quantity of field experiences and multicultural knowledge, and race and multicultural awareness. A negative relationship was discovered between the frequency of travel experiences outside country of birth and multicultural knowledge. Implications of these findings for field of Student Affairs and suggestions for future research are discussed.