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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Emergency Managers’ Perceptions Of Active Threat Preparedness In Higher Education, Shannon Daniel Jan 2021

Emergency Managers’ Perceptions Of Active Threat Preparedness In Higher Education, Shannon Daniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The shooting on Virginia Tech’s campus that left 32 dead in 2007 and other incidents since then resulted in active threat preparations at institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States. Little is known about how emergency managers understand campus preparedness and what enhanced learning in the implementation, training, and effectiveness of policies. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand how campus emergency managers perceived the effectiveness of the design and implementation of their standard operating procedures to protect against an active threat and what the emergency managers perceived enhanced their learning in the design and …


Student Retention At The Community College Level, Davia Debisha Ramgeet Jan 2021

Student Retention At The Community College Level, Davia Debisha Ramgeet

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student retention has been a serious issue for many community colleges globally for several decades. In a community college in Jamaica, persistence rates have been steadily declining within the last several years. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ experiences with the pre-college program that was designed to prepare students to enter and successfully complete college undergraduate programs. Astin’s conceptual framework on involvement was used for this qualitative project study. Key questions for this study included what in-class experiences and what student support services students participating in the pre-college program perceived to be most useful to their college …


Academic Agenda, Goal Setting, And African American Male Student Persistence At A Predominantly Black Institution, Hamilton Jb Raymond Jan 2021

Academic Agenda, Goal Setting, And African American Male Student Persistence At A Predominantly Black Institution, Hamilton Jb Raymond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low African American male student graduation rates in the United States have been a concern for higher education administrators, and more strategies to address their challenges are needed. This basic qualitative study addressed the experiences of African American male students who persisted to graduation at a predominantly Black institution in the northeastern United States. The institutional departure model and goal setting theory formed the conceptual framework for the study. Nine African American males who graduated from the institution described their experiences with academic goal setting and a graduation agenda, through one-on-one interviews. Key findings included the challenges of financial concerns, …


Cherokee College Students' Experiences With Cultural Incongruence On Primarily Whitestreamed Campuses, Matthew Rom Jan 2019

Cherokee College Students' Experiences With Cultural Incongruence On Primarily Whitestreamed Campuses, Matthew Rom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The persistence rates of Native American students in higher education are lower than other underrepresented groups. Research suggests that the discrepancy could result from factors outside of students' academic knowledge. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how Cherokee students perceive their tribal culture affects their ability to persist at institutions of higher education with a primarily Whitestreamed campus culture. Tharp's cultural compatibility theory and Astin's student involvement theory guided the development of the research questions. The research questions explored potential differences between Cherokee students' tribal culture and the culture these students percieve exists on their college …


Challenges Of African American Female Veterans Enrolled In Higher Education, Latrice Jones Tollerson Jan 2018

Challenges Of African American Female Veterans Enrolled In Higher Education, Latrice Jones Tollerson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women represent 19% of the 2.1 million living female veterans. They are the largest minority group among veteran women; however, little is known about the challenges that they face when they transition to a postsecondary learning environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand better how this cohort of veterans who served in the U.S. Army during military campaigns in the Middle East overcame transitional challenges to higher education. This study utilized Schlossberg's adult transition theory and identity formation as described in Josselson's theory of identity development in women. The focus of this study was on …


An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby Jan 2018

An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Texas community college, stakeholders wanted to strengthen the financial literacy module offered in the student development course for undergraduates. The problem was that no formative data existed on students' financial literacy, and it was not known if knowledge of financial literacy for students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in high school differed from students who had not. The purpose of this study was to obtain formative data regarding students' needs for financial literacy education and to examine whether the knowledge of financial literacy for college students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in …


Thematic Narrative Of Lgbt Faculty Members' Professional Identity And Activism, Kathy Luanne Williamson Gall Jan 2018

Thematic Narrative Of Lgbt Faculty Members' Professional Identity And Activism, Kathy Luanne Williamson Gall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 20 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have made progress in attaining the same basic civil rights as heterosexual individuals. As in other civil rights movements, the college campus has played an important role. The LGBT community participates in academic and campus life, and numerous colleges are developing and supporting an inclusive, safe, and respectful culture. However, bias and prejudice continue to occur. While researchers have studied the repercussions of prejudice, discrimination, and low evaluation scores for LGBT faculty, little research has been done to explore professional identity and activism in LGBT faculty at traditional …


Attracting, Recruiting, And Retaining Qualified Faculty At Community Colleges In Sierra Leone, Gloria Betts Jan 2017

Attracting, Recruiting, And Retaining Qualified Faculty At Community Colleges In Sierra Leone, Gloria Betts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study was designed to explore policies that were in place to attract, recruit, and retain qualified faculty for 4 community colleges in Sierra Leone. The research was necessitated by the apparent inability of Sierra Leone educators to train and retain faculty possessing the required academic credentials. The research questions were designed to address the policies and strategies used to attract and recruit faculty, better prepare faculty, improve the quality of classroom instruction, and retain qualified faculty at community colleges. The literature review yielded results about the benefits of community colleges in developing countries, thus reinforcing the need for …


Higher Education Support Services And Graduation Rates Of Structured Education Program Students, Seth Hepner Jan 2017

Higher Education Support Services And Graduation Rates Of Structured Education Program Students, Seth Hepner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 1st-year retention rate of the Structured Education Program (SEP) is 90%, yet the 6-year graduation rate of SEP students is 29%. The gap between SEP 1st-year retention and graduation rates is the problem that this study addressed. The low graduation rate of SEP students is an important issue because graduation rates are used to measure the quality of higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to understand the low graduation rates of SEP students. Tinto's retention theory, which seeks to explain dropouts from higher education institutions, was the main framework of the study. The study's research questions …


Intercultural And Career Experiences Of African American Women Midlevel Leaders At Predominately White Institutions, Rabekah Stewart Jan 2016

Intercultural And Career Experiences Of African American Women Midlevel Leaders At Predominately White Institutions, Rabekah Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women leaders positively influence the college experiences of students at predominately White institutions (PWI), but the retention of those women leaders remains an issue. At the time of this study, limited research informed race and gender issues that intersect the career advancement of African American women serving in midlevel leadership positions at PWIs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the intercultural and career advancement experiences of these women. Critical race theory, critical race feminist theory, and intercultural communications theory were used as a framework to understand the participants' intercultural and career advancement experiences, perceived influences, …


A Delphi Study Of Effective Practices For Developing Competency-Based Learning Models In Higher Education, Lisa Monica Mcintyre-Hite Jan 2016

A Delphi Study Of Effective Practices For Developing Competency-Based Learning Models In Higher Education, Lisa Monica Mcintyre-Hite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Currently, there is an increase in competency-based education programs in higher education institutions in response to student and employer needs. However, research is lacking on effective practices for developing competencies, assessments, and learning resources for these programs. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to gather expert opinions about effective practices for developing competencies, assessments, and learning resources in competency-based programs in higher education. The conceptual framework was based on principles of andragogy, critical subjectivity, and social constructivism. Ten long-term specialists in developing competency-based programs in higher education served as participants. Data from 3 rounds of interviews were coded …


Effect Of An Interactive Component On Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Hypothesis Testing, Sarah Anne Inkpen Jan 2016

Effect Of An Interactive Component On Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Hypothesis Testing, Sarah Anne Inkpen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Premier Technical College of Qatar (PTC-Q) has seen high failure rates among students taking a college statistics course. The students are English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in business studies and health sciences. Course delivery has involved conventional content/curriculum-centered instruction with minimal to no interactive components. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the effectiveness of an interactive approach to teaching and learning statistics used in North America and the United Kingdom when used with EFL students in the Middle East. Guided by von Glasersfeld's constructivist framework, this study compared conceptual understanding between a convenience sample …


Chinese International Students' And Faculty Members' Views Of Plagiarism In Higher Education, Alan Edward Grigg Jan 2016

Chinese International Students' And Faculty Members' Views Of Plagiarism In Higher Education, Alan Edward Grigg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the enrollment of Chinese international students (CIS) increased at a private institution in the Midwest, so did suspected cases of plagiarism. This study addressed the problem of how faculty members grappled with CIS' interpretation and application of Western-based views of plagiarism. The purpose of the study was to identify similarities and differences in the views of these 2 groups. Social cognitive theory, intercultural adaptation theory, and neutralization theory framed this qualitative case study. The research questions focused on how these particular CIS interpreted and applied the Western concept of plagiarism to assignments and exams, the impact of classroom practices …


Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton Jan 2016

Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans account for a disproportionate percentage of students who pursue college education in comparison to European Americans. Indeed, a considerable number of African American High School Equivalency (HSE) students are not enrolling in college once they earn their HSE diploma. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine 3 African American HSE students' perceptions about factors that influenced their pursuit of higher education at the selected HSE study site. These 3 students were selected for their inclusion because of their ethnicity, enrollment in the HSE program, academic underpreparedness and lack of pursuit of higher education, and strong …


Career Mobility Patterns Of Aspiring Female Leaders At California Community Colleges, Tracy Lynn Johnson Jan 2016

Career Mobility Patterns Of Aspiring Female Leaders At California Community Colleges, Tracy Lynn Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many women struggle to move up the career ladder. Women aspiring to executive positions in community colleges within the United States may face gender barriers, family-work life barriers, and barriers regarding their leadership ability. The problem studied was a gap in knowledge of how women succeeded in attaining executive positions in community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine ways that female leaders at Southern California community colleges assumed executive-level roles at their institutions and the barriers they faced to attain those positions . The theory of upward mobility and the concept of self-efficacy comprised the study's conceptual …


Instructors' Perceptions Of Connectivist Characteristics In Adult Undergraduate Courses, John Bannister Jan 2016

Instructors' Perceptions Of Connectivist Characteristics In Adult Undergraduate Courses, John Bannister

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of college students in the United States who are classified as adult learners will continue to grow, bringing new challenges to degree programs. Multiple studies have provided insight into how best to teach these learners. However, to maximize learning, institutions must now consider strategies that merge adult learning principles with the integration of technology and students' personal and professional networks. Connectivism, based largely on the work of Siemens, and andragogy, based on Knowles, provided the conceptual framework that guided this basic qualitative interpretive study that examined how instructors experience and interpret the characteristics of connectivism (autonomy, openness, diversity, …


Perceived Academic Needs Of Military Veterans Within A For-Profit, Yvonne Rose Ross Jan 2015

Perceived Academic Needs Of Military Veterans Within A For-Profit, Yvonne Rose Ross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of recent U.S. military veterans attending college has increased due to the Veterans Education Assistance Act; however, retention and graduation rates for this population have declined. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the experiences and academic needs of recent military veterans as they transition from the military to academic life at a for-profit, proprietary college. In addition, this study identified differences in the problems faced by male and female veterans and explored whether veterans understood the resources available to them as they enrolled in higher education. Schlossberg's transitional theory was the conceptual framework used in …


An Examination Of The Differential Impact Of University/College Research Emphasis On Levels Of Counselors' Resilience, Erica Ann Handon Jan 2015

An Examination Of The Differential Impact Of University/College Research Emphasis On Levels Of Counselors' Resilience, Erica Ann Handon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor resilience is the ability to transform adversity into growth opportunities that become part of the professional's identity and the core values of a counselor. However, researchers have yet to identify why some counselors exhibit higher levels of resilience while others exhibit less. Counselor resilience can be learned and nurtured at any point of an individual's development. The purpose of this study was to examine how differences within the foundational edification of a research-embedded curriculum impact a counselor's level of resilience. Participants included practicing counselors who received their counseling degrees from a 2014 U.S News and World Report (USNWR) Nationally …


Why Latino American Community College Students Drop Out After One Semester, Rosa Delia Smith Jan 2015

Why Latino American Community College Students Drop Out After One Semester, Rosa Delia Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why many Latino America students at an urban community college in the state of Maryland who were enrolled at least part-time and were U.S. citizens or permanent residents did not continue their education into the second semester. Guided by Tinto's model of student integration and student persistence, this study explored the reasons these students dropped-out using the students' words to describe barriers to success, factors that influenced their decisions not to return for their second semester, and what they believed could have made a difference in their decisions. Five Latino …


Perceptions Of Higher Education Online Learning Faculty In Lebanon, Noha Adib Haidar Jan 2014

Perceptions Of Higher Education Online Learning Faculty In Lebanon, Noha Adib Haidar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this case study was to explore faculty attitudes toward online learning in a Lebanese Higher Education Institution (HEI). The research problem addressed the disinterest among faculty at the Arts, Sciences, and Technology University of Lebanon (AUL) in enhancing learning using online technology. The research questions for this study explored the attitudes of the faculty toward applying online learning and the extent of the faculty readiness to adopt this technological change. A qualitative case study design was used that employed multiple sources of information including semi-structured interviews and existing literature. The target population was AUL faculty including full-time …