Education Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Can You Help Me? What A Mid-West Land Grant University Is Doing To Help Formerly Incarcerated Students In Higher Education, Terrence S. Mctier Jr.

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

Formerly Incarcerated Students (FIS) can be found enrolling in colleges and universities across the United States. When looking at the lack of support and resources available for FIS (who are currently enrolled at a collegiate institution) in higher education, a growing number of researchers identify the transitional experience as problematic for individuals with a criminal background. Although there is recognition of problematic issues for enrolling ex-offenders at any given institution because of safety concerns, lack of knowledge, and concerns of recidivism, one major problem still persists, and that is the lack of resources that are available in higher education. This …

Undergraduate Chinese Student College Choice: Chinese Student Growth At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Jacob Hoy-Elswick

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

In this mixed methods study, the researcher explored the importance of institutional characteristics and people who were influential in the college choice of first-year undergraduate Chinese students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL). The purpose of the research was to understand the impact and interplay of variables that previous research has shown to be significant in Chinese student decision making and how those variables applied to first-year students at UNL. A quantitative survey was administered to and completed by 25 students (n = 25) and analyzed through multivariate correlations. Qualitative surveys were then conducted with three students to gain depth …

The History Of Nebraska Public School Reorganization Over The Past 30 Years And How This History Might Be Used To Predict Nebraska School Reorganization In The Future: A Mixed Methods Study, Cory D. Worrell

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

The purpose of this study was to examine the history of reorganization in public schools in Nebraska over the past 30 years and how we can use this history to make predictions for the future of reorganization in public schools in Nebraska. The researcher used a mixed method approach. For the quantitative research 199 Nebraska superintendents were surveyed to determine the reasons for their school districts reorganization over the past 30 years. For the qualitative research, eight individuals were interviewed to gauge their perceptions of public school reorganization in Nebraska. These eight individuals were experts in public school education in …

The Study Of Pre-Service Teachers Participating In Candidate Learning Communities: A Mixed Methods Study, Barbara Sunderman

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

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of instructional skill and professional dispositions of pre-service teacher education candidates’ understanding of their own teaching skills. The research examined perceptions before and after the clinical experience while participating in a Candidate Learning Community. In this mixed-methods study, perceptions were quantitatively measured with a pre-survey and a post survey of 17 participants and qualitatively described by 11 participants in follow up interviews; each intensely studied teaching skill and professional pedagogy in coursework and cooperative classrooms.

The research revealed significant increase in personal perception of teaching skills and dispositions during the …

Practical Applications For Student Affairs: A Phenomenological Exploration Of How Black Male Undergraduate Persisters Describe Retention And Social Integration At A Midwestern Pwi, André L. Fortune

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

For decades higher education has incurred challenges with increasing undergraduate retention and degree attainment. Lately these challenges, including focus on increasing Black male undergraduate degree attainment, have become a national concern. Scholars like Vincent Tinto (1987, 1993, 2012) have dedicated research to explain why students leave or stay in college. His findings identified the majority of students voluntarily leave institutions for nonacademic reasons that occur outside of class. On many campuses outside of class experiences, which Tinto labeled social integration, are primarily facilitated by student affairs practitioners.

The concept of social integration as a factor in student retention provided …

Value And Contribution Of The Participation In Intercollegiate Athletics On The Personal Development Of Community College-Aged Students, Michele Gill

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

The purpose of this study is to better understand the value of the extracurricular experience for college students. Gaining insight into the variety of opportunities for student personal development as a result of participation in intercollegiate athletics and extracurricular activities during college is explored by this study. Quality student engagement activities and understanding the reasons for engagement contributing to personal development continues to be valuable information in development of student on campus programming at colleges and universities. This qualitative study takes a phenomenological approach to describe the experiences of students involved in intercollegiate athletics competition at a small rural serving …

Characteristics Of An Appropriate Instructor-Student Relationship In Allied Health, Julie K. Morbach

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

In most allied health educational programs, the instructors are individuals who are experts in their field, but do not have a certificate in teaching. Furthermore, these individuals may feel a sense of loneliness when transitioning from working in a department with co-workers to being the sole instructor of a discipline-specific program. Because of this sense of isolation and the amount of time spent with the same students, instructors may begin to perceive students more as friends and confidants. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of educators regarding the instructor-student relationship in allied health programs in …

Saying No To College: First Generation, Low-Income Students And The Decision To Not Attend College, Deena M. Curtis

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

The transition of first generation, low-income students from high school to college has been studied in depth but not necessarily from the viewpoint of the students who chose not to attend college or those who fail to complete the processes necessary to attend college. This study focuses on the students attending an alternative/charter school in a large, Midwest metropolitan area and the decision process they have used in making their higher education plans. This qualitative case study follows a unique methodology designed to identify the bounds of the case rather than having predetermined boundaries for the case.

The findings of …

Principals’ Use Of Classroom Walkthrough Observations To Improve Instruction: A Grounded Theory, Mitchell R. Kubicek

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

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a theory that explains the process of improving instruction in Nebraska public schools through the use of classroom walkthroughs. Classroom walkthroughs are brief, frequent, and unannounced observations conducted by building principals and other instructional leaders. Five Nebraska public school principals were invited to participate in taped interviews. Snowball and chain sampling was used to select additional teacher participants for interviews. Through these interviews conceptual labels were assigned, a core category (phenomenon) identified, and a theoretical model developed describing: (a) causal conditions that influence the phenomenon, (b) strategies that result from …

A Case Study: Exploring The Experiences Of Administrators And Teacher Leaders In A Midwestern Turnaround School, Bary Habrock

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

Economic conditions too often create disadvantages for students and their achievement in schools (Reeves, 2004). Educators must better understand high poverty and high minority schools that overcome the odds to improve student achievement. Researchers have studied turnaround schools that improve student achievement in chronically low-performing schools in a relatively short time period (Herman, Dawson, Dee, Greene, Maynard, Redding, & Darwin, 2008). Still there is inadequate national research on the actual experiences of principals and teachers in these schools as told through their perspectives.

This study identified themes from participant interviews to add to the research currently available in this area. …

Mba Academic Teams Training And Measuring Team Skills Development And Team Satisfaction In The First Semester Of A Full-Time Mba Program, Crystal Clayton

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

This study explored the benefits of providing MBA academic teams with formal training. The purpose of this mixed methods, single case study design, was to investigate whether MBA teams training contributes to team skills development and student team satisfaction. Participants in this study were first year, full-time MBA students at a large Midwestern Research I institution. The Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME) was utilized to regularly administer peer and self-assessment of teamwork skills and track student team satisfaction. The research was broken into three main components. The first component included a quantitative element utilizing regular assessment readings of …

The Role Of Nebraska Public Elementary School Principals In The Preparation For State-Wide Testing: A Mixed Methods Study, Carrie L. Kolar

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

Assessment is used to determine whether students are meeting the goals of education. In Nebraska, the goals are measured through statewide testing to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. As the requirements of No Child Left Behind increase, this study described the strategies used by Nebraska public elementary school principals in an effort to improvement student achievement.

The researcher gathered literature in order to identify the role of the principal in the assessment process and found the focus to be on the preparation of the statewide testing but little on the role of the principal. The literature revealed …

One-To-One Laptop Initiative: Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators, Damon Mcdonald

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

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators about the one to one laptop initiative in Nebraska schools. Parallel studies from the five largest and five smallest school districts were identified by the Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Formula and Organization Services. High schools in each district were chosen that have had one-to-one laptop initiatives for four or more years. The study examined teachers and administrator perceptions regarding: (a) the one-to-one implementation, (b) student engagement, (c) student grades, (d) benefits of one-to-one technology, and (e) the continued success of one-to-one …

One-To-One Laptop Initiative: Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators, Brian Maschmann

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

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators about the one to one laptop initiative in Nebraska schools Parallel studies from the five largest and five smallest school districts were identified by the Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Formula and Organization Services. High schools in each district were chosen that have had one-to-one laptop initiatives for four or more years. The study examined teachers and administrator perceptions regarding: (a) the one-to-one implementation, (b) student engagement, (c) student grades, (d) benefits of one-to-one technology, and (e) continued success of one-to-one initiatives. …

Hrd And Employment Preparation Of Women Refugees: An Integrative Literature Review, Minerva Tuliao

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

This paper explores the HRD and employment preparation of women refugees. As half of any refugee population, women refugees have the potential to greatly contribute to social and economic development of the country of their resettlement, but many remain unemployed or underemployed. The review of literature includes the effectiveness of available refugee employment services, crucial factors for employment, and the various challenges that women refugees face in employment preparation. Implications for HRD research and practice are discussed.