Education Commons^™

Deliberate Indifference: An Exploration Of The Student Survivor Activism Group Movement, Shyla Kallhoff

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

#MeToo. It’s On Us. End Rape on Campus. #BeTheSwede. Dear UNL. These phrases have united people all over the world to use their voices and speak out about sexual violence. In higher education, these statements empower students to make their voices heard, and simultaneously invoke fear in campus administrators who do not want to be held accountable for the mishandling/lack of Title IX cases. Student survivor activism groups, the subject of this study, have formed at universities around the country and often use similar statements to advocate for changes they feel need to happen. Finding no previous research, it is …

Raw And Pure Education In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What does education mean to individuals in the world today? Education is a way one can attain or improve his or her ability to lead and survive in the society of ours. Without educational training of the mind, it may be impossible to realize the importance of adaptability of living in the environment. Without education, It may also be difficult to embellish the use of both the mental and physical attributes possessed by individual beings.

What really is education? Education is the training of the mind to perform desire functions or to perpetuate the modality of obtaining an end or …

Unknown Identities: How Transracial International Adoptees Racially And Culturally Identify In College, Amy Williamson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study investigated transracial international adoptees (TRIAs) and how they racially and culturally identify in college. This study was meant to bring an awareness to student affairs professionals to increase their knowledge about a population they may encounter. Four TRIAs were interviewed. The findings from the data analysis revealed many TRIAs were uninterested in their birth country growing up, they were connected to their adoptive culture, and they racially identified with their birth race. Areas for future research and recommendations for student affairs are included.

Advisor: Stephanie Bondi

Leadership Perspectives Of Chief Student Affairs Officers, Jeff Beavers

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Leadership in student affairs continues to be a challenging enterprise for universities. Colleges are expected to help students succeed while providing for abundant needs through graduation. Chief student affairs officers have increasing demands of students and faculty amid decreased funds. This exploratory study took an in-depth look at the leadership perspectives of 19 chief student affairs officers at 4-year, public universities across the Midwest. The researcher sought responses on common leadership perspectives, challenges faced, and opportunities encountered. The three emerging themes were elements that inform leadership, knowledge and skills, and mindful leadership outlook. These emergent themes formed the basis for …

College-Going Experiences Of Male Foster Youth Alumni Who Have Stopped-Out Of College, Felipe D. Longoria

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study examined how foster care experiences and masculinities influenced male foster youth alumni’s decision to go to college. The study also sought to understand the in-and-out-of-college factors that led participants to exit college prematurely. Five participants were each interviewed twice for data collection purposes. Findings from data analysis indicated that establishing and maintaining relationships in college were challenging and affected an already vulnerable population in their help-seeking behavior. Recommendations are offered for higher education professionals and areas for future research are noted.

Advisor: Corey Rumann

Transgressing Gender Normativity Through Gender Identity Development: Exploring Transgender, Non-Conforming, And Non-Binary Identities Of College Students, Enrique Tejada Iii

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study situates current gender social constructions as harmful, inhibitive, and problematic, especially for those that transgress gender boundaries and do not align with their gender assigned at birth. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to critically challenge and deconstruct the social construct of gender and its norms both within and outside of a college campus. This study works to achieve this purpose and answer research questions through careful analysis of the different gender journeys of three separate gender-diverse individuals. These participants’ stories are shared in a case-study format to recognize how each individual uniquely and personally formed their …

Sorority Chapter Presidents: The Experience Of Being A Leader In The Greek Community, Kimberly A. Schumacher

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research on Greek life is plentiful, but literature on sorority chapter presidents is nearly invisible. Sorority chapter presidents undergo many challenges and responsibilities while still remaining full-time students. Though largely unexplored, the experiences of these women highlight aspects of being a leader within the Greek experience and can give great insight into how these leaders operate on a day-to-day basis.

This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the experiences of three women as they reflect on their role as sorority chapter presidents at Midwestern University. Midwestern University is a large, public, four-year institution in the Midwest region of the United States. This …

Developing An Understanding Of How College Students Experience Interactive Instructional Technology: A Ux Perspective, Adam Wagler

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Technology is increasingly mobile and social, resulting in dynamic digital and interactive environments. The ubiquitous nature of interactive instructional technology presents new paradigms for higher education, creating challenges for instructors to compete for time and attention as students are bombarded by information in a digital, media rich world. The problem being studied, with all of these technological advancements, is how instructors can approach these challenges from a user experience (UX) perspective. A macro level view sees college students taking multiple courses at a time, over many semesters, and using different interactive instructional technology that mix with other forms of online …

Getting To The Heart Of Our Students: First-Year Students And Their Wellness, Shannon Ford

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wellness is a topic everyone is talking about these days. While a keyword among conversations, wellness within literature is not broken down but simply a theme. Therefore, I wanted to gain a better understanding of how students across college campuses view and perceive their personal wellness. To do this, I conducted a phenomenological mixed methods study, which explored how first-year students perceive wellness.

Through administering the 36-question Perceived Wellness Inventory survey (Adams, Bezner & Steinhardt, 1997) and conducting a focus group, three themes emerged: behaviors versus knowledge, feelings, and support. These three themes supported existent wellness literature and added areas …

Exploring The Factors That Influence And Motivate Female Students To Enroll And Persist In Collegiate Stem Degree Programs: A Mixed Methods Study, Rosemary L. Edzie

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nationally, the need for an increase in interest, enrollment, and degrees awarded from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree programs continues to suffer. While students are enrolling in collegiate STEM degree programs, it is not occurring at a rate that meets the workforce demand. In addition to the concern that there is not a sufficient amount of collegiate STEM majors, there is a concern over too few females enrolling and persisting in collegiate STEM degree programs.

This mixed methods sequential exploratory research study considered the factors that influence and motivate undergraduate female students to enroll and persist in collegiate …

Always In The Back Of Your Mind: Experiences Of Latina/O U.S. Citizens From Mixed-Immigration Status Households In Higher Education, Alicia Dominguez

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research explores the experiences of students who are United States citizens, first-generation students, and members of mixed-status households. The aim of the research is to understand the complex experiences of navigating higher education as a student from a mixed-status household. Through a semi-structured interview protocol interviews were conducted with six Latina/o identifying students who were first-generation students and members of mixed-status households. All participants were enrolled at a Midwestern, predominantly white institution (PWI). Through LatCrit (Bernal, 2002) and Counterstorytelling (Yosso, 2002) these students were given the space and opportunity to tell their stories and experiences as U.S. citizens …

Youth Sport Coaching Efficacy: Coach Education Level As A Predictor Of Coaching Efficacy, Geoffrey V. Weller

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this research was to evaluate coaches’ level of education as a predictor of their coaching efficacy level. The study tested ten hypotheses. Two for each of the five types of coaching efficacy identified: (1) Coaches with a higher level of education will not exhibit a higher level of coaching efficacy and (2) male coaches will not exhibit a higher level of coaching efficacy than similarly educated female coaches. Individuals (N=1669) coaching teams within the YMCA of Lincoln, NE Youth Sports Branch were emailed a link to an online survey developed using Qualtrics software. An analysis of variance …

Growing As A Leader Through Developing Others: The Effect Of Being A Mentor Principal, Megan Rachel Adams

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Principals play a significant role in student learning. They are expected to be both instructional and organizational leaders as well as the day-to-day management of a community of individuals. The balancing of multiple roles is a dynamic task that takes education, training, coaching and ongoing developmental support. However, principals often do not have these supports to foster growth and effective practice.

This multiple case study examined the experiences of two secondary school urban principals who mentored future administrative leaders. The study also explored other elements of the practice including the necessary supports for a successful partnership, the barriers to a …

A Mixed Methods Case Study: Understanding The Experience Of Nebraska 4-H Participants Relative To Their Transition And Adaptation To College, Jill Walahoski

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods case study was designed to assess the preparedness of former Nebraska 4-H participants to successfully transition and adjust to college. The study also sought to understand the way that students’ experiences in Nebraska 4-H may have influenced their readiness to transition to college. The initial quantitative stage of this case study administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire to former 4-H participants who were recent high school graduates. Latter qualitative stages included interviews with staff regarding the practices and strategies they employed related to preparing young people for college and interviews with former 4-H participants selected from …

The Legislative Purposes And Intent Of The Common Levy In Nebraska’S Learning Community, Matthew L. Blomstedt

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this historical study was to establish the purposes and intent of the common levy in Nebraska’s learning community. The development of this unique regional educational structure consisting of eleven school districts in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area is central to the study. The research detailed the context of the decisions made by the Nebraska Legislature to establish and implement the learning community law from 2005 and 2012. Specifically, the study focused on the establishment of a regional tax base, the common levy, as a response to boundary and finance instability that persisted in the Omaha area. The …

Generativity In Young Adults: Comparing And Explaining The Impact Of Mentoring, Lindsay J. Hastings

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this embedded explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the impact of mentoring relationships on generativity in college students. Generativity refers to concern for establishing and guiding the next generation The first, quantitative phase compared generatvity levels among general college students, college student leaders who do not mentor, and college student leaders who mentor through a program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Data were collected via surveys (N = 273) using the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), the Generativity Behavior Checklist (GBC), and the Personal Strivings measure. A multivariate …

Academic Library Directors' Perceptions Of Joining A Large Library Consortium Sharing An Integrated Library System: A Descriptive Survey, Dennis Krieb

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The collective holdings of CARLI’s (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) “I-Share” catalog total approximately 32 million items. It is the third largest academic catalog in the United States, however only 76 of CARLI’s 148 academic libraries participate in I-Share. This descriptive survey examined the factors that influenced a CARLI academic library director’s decision to join, or not join, I-Share’s integrated library system. Seventy-seven of the 145 CARLI library directors sampled completed the web-based survey. This represented a 53.1% response rate.

The framework for the survey was designed around three sections; advantages, disadvantages, and obstacles to participating in …

A Preliminary Study: Body Dysmorphic Disorder In Division I Women’S Collegiate Soccer Players, Tammy D. Jones

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among collegiate athletes has not been clearly determined. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder found in Division I women’s soccer players. The researcher hypothesized that there would be some symptoms found within the participants of sport and that there was a need to research this area further.

The study consisted of four participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. The subjects were asked a series of questions from the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS) to determine if they indicated …

Experiences Of Community College Students With Adhd: A Qualitative Study In The Tradition Of Phenomenology, Charla N. Lawrence

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Postsecondary educational institutions of all types have seen increases in the number of enrollees diagnosed with ADHD. Despite such increases less in known about ADHD among college students because the majority of research has focused on children and adolescents. This qualitative study conducted in the tradition of phenomenology, explored the lived experiences of ten students attending a community college. Personal interviews were conducted for the purpose of gaining insight into how students with ADHD experience higher education in a community college environment; what support services were most/least useful; challenges faced and successes enjoyed; factors influencing success or failure, and the …

Parental Perceptions Of Body Mass Index Referrals And Overweight School-Age Children, Misty Schwartz

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

It is well documented that there is a worldwide epidemic of obesity in children. To address obesity in children, emphasis must be on factors within family, school, and community environments. Although most parents and school officials are aware of the problem of overweight children, there is little data available to guide decision making about the acceptability of school-based Body Mass Index (BMI) screening and referral programs. As states mandate BMI screening and referral, parental insight is essential to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of BMI notification.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the perceptions of parents …