Education Commons^™

Service-Learning: A Powerful Pedagogy For Promoting Academic Success Among Students Of Color, Michelle C. Sterk Barrett, Isabelle Jenkins

Scholarship and Professional Writing from the J.D. Power Center

This article discusses a mixed-methods study that investigated the service-learning experiences of students of color at College of the Holy Cross to better understand how service-learning may be an effective pedagogical tool for reducing cultural dissonance and addressing related achievement gaps. Quantitative data were collected from over 1,500 students who had enrolled in 59 different service-learning classes. In addition, interviews were conducted with 13 students of color who had participated in service-learning. Findings indicated that students’ service-learning experiences paralleled study participants’ descriptions of how they learned most effectively. Furthermore, the findings suggest that service-learning may resonate for students of color …

Life Through Different Lenses, Teresa Morales

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this capstone project, my partner and I were able to explore the lack of affordable housing for low-income families and the demonstrable effect on students academic achievement. Children whose families have a difficult time finding adequate housing, live in poor conditions that limits them to acquire their learning skills and abilities to succeed. The community partner we worked with was a local Family Resource Center that provides housing assistance and other social determinants. The purpose of this research was understand how low-income families deal with inadequate living conditions and the impacts of student academic success. Based on an analysis …

The Role Of Support Systems For Success Of Underrepresented Students In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Akiko Fuse, Michael Bergen

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

There is limited representation in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) professions of individuals from diverse populations. This study examined the relationship among CSD students' degree of financial, emotional/moral, and academic support. The relationship between role models and admissions outcomes was also assessed. It explored how support received by CSD students differs by racial/ethnic backgrounds. A survey was completed by 57 alumni of an undergraduate CSD program, revealing information about participants’ backgrounds, support characteristics, and other factors. The study 1) highlighted the importance of emotional/moral and financial support, 2) revealed reduced access to financial and academic role models among alumni from …

On Campus Social Support And Hope As Unique Predictors Of Perceived Ability To Persist In College, Deanna D'Amico, Veronica Fruiht

Psychology | Faculty Scholarship

The psychological construct of hope, characterized by goal-directed thinking rooted in personal agency and the ability to develop pathways to achieve goals, has long been demonstrated to predict academic success. A sample of 994 undergraduates participated in this study to better understand the role of hope and on-campus social support in predicting students’ perceived ability to persist and succeed in college. Results demonstrated that on-campus support, particularly from teachers and professors, significantly predicted academic outcomes and hope. In addition, we found evidence of a support gap in which students from underrepresented ethnic minorities were far more likely to report that …

Inclusion Or Special Education Resource: Teacher Perceptions Of Placement Decisions On Academic Growth, Casey Story

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the thoughts and perceptions of 16 teachers and their experiences working with special education students. The programming options most often offered by school districts are general education inclusion or a separate resource setting, yet there is a limited amount of research showing actual academic progress to guide decision making. The following question was central to the research: Based on teacher perceptions, do students with special needs show the most academic success in general education inclusion classes or special education resource classes? Data analysis led to the identification of the following six themes: behavior interfering with teaching, …

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Children Living In Conditions Of Poverty, Terri J. Robinson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed elementary teachers’ perceptions of their challenges working with children who live in conditions of poverty. This study found that teachers often work with children from very difficult situations, including exposure to alcohol, drugs, violence, and abandonment. This study found that no matter the challenges teachers encounter daily, they remain motivated, dedicated and determined to take the necessary steps to meet the needs of their students. One way they do this is by using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, which attempts to include various aspects of their students’ daily lives and interests in the curriculum. The teachers in this study …

Creating An Effective Writing Center: A Case Study On Improving Student Writing, Kathryn Leber

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The writing skills of students in the United States have been declining, leaving many unprepared for the academic demands of college as well as for the current job market. There is a need to improve students' writing skills to bridge these gaps. The purpose of this case study was to examine students and instructors perceptions regarding the services provided by a college writing center.. Knowles's theory of andragogy was used to emphasize the importance of focusing on adult learners and the motivation behind adult learning with regard to students' decisions to visit campus resources such as the writing center. The …

Honor College Students' Adjustment Factors And Academic Success: Advising Implications, Christina Clark, Alan Schwitzer, Tisha Paredes, Tim Grothaus

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

We examined first-semester adjustment among students in and out of an honors college because honors college participants receive relatively little attention in the advising literature. As expected, honors college students earned relatively high grades and were associated with high retention rates. Two noncognitive factors predicted these differences: self-confidence and external influences on college choice. In an interesting finding, honors students expressed less self-confidence and placed greater importance on external college-choice factors than their high-achieving peers outside the honors college. Implications for the support of honors students and their peers are discussed.

The Effects Of Academic Parent Teacher Teams On Latino Student Achievement, Barbara Dee Bench

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of research have noted the importance of parent involvement in students' academic success. Less is known about parent engagement models that aim to increase Latino students' reading achievement. This project study examined the effectiveness of a 2-year parent engagement program implemented to address poor reading achievement of Latino elementary school students in a small urban district. The purpose of this study was to determine disparities in student scores between those parents who participated in the program and those parents who did not participate. The research questions examined parent engagement levels in comparison to increased summative reading scores. Based on …

Classroom Climate, Academic Success, And Intent To Persist Among Non-Christian And Christian Undergraduate Students, Christy M. Craft, Yang Yang

Christy Moran Craft