Education Commons^™

Stakeholders' Perception Of A Successful Campus For Former Foster Care Children Attending Post Secondary Education Programs, Jeffrey Lee Shrewsbury

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This qualitative research study examined the supports children with a history of foster care need to be successful in post-secondary education. The study asked ten foster care alumni students receiving services from programs in Virginia, Florida, and Washington State about the level of support they receive and how successful that support is. The study also asked ten case managers that work in these programs their thoughts on the level of supports students with a history of foster care need in post-secondary education; the results of the case managers and students were then compared for agreement. The study also asked the …

An Exploration Of Barriers And Supports Of High School Equivalency Diploma (Hsed) Graduates Transitioning To Postsecondary Education, Chanell Butler Morello

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to explore the perceived barriers and supports of High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) graduates upon their consideration of attaining a higher education degree at a community college in North Carolina. Other areas explored in this qualitative study included the way completing the HSED program changes a student’s perception of learning and/or increases his or her motivation to continue their studies.

A primary objective of the Basic Skills programs, also known as College and Career Readiness programs, is to transition as many students as possible to postsecondary education and employment. In spite of such goals, North …

Assessing The Correlations Between Non-Cognitive Factors And The First Semester Gpa Of Nontraditional Students At A Community College., Alexis Parent Ferrouillet

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

Ninety percent of the students enrolled at community colleges in the United States are nontraditional (NCES, 2001). According to Horn and Carroll (1996), characteristics of nontraditional student include: delayed college enrollment, financially independent of parents, worked at least thirty-five hours per week, had dependents other than a spouse, were single parents, and had not received a standard high school diploma. Because of these characteristics, nontraditional students can face a plethora of challenges in higher education and feel underprepared for college coursework. Upon enrollment into the community college with an open admissions policy, these underprepared students must take high stakes standardized …

Adult Educators At The Crossroads Of Language Learning And Workforce Development: A Qualitative Study Of Teacher Agency, Liz Ging

Graduate Masters Theses

Since the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014, there has been renewed questioning about the nature and purpose of adult education programs in the United States, including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The heavy workforce development orientation of the new law is a starker manifestation of trends focused on job training which have been sweeping through the field of adult education for the last few decades. In the midst of these shifts, little research has been done to investigate what the educators charged with meeting these policy goals think about these changes, the …

In Their Own Words: A Narrative Inquiry Into Part-Time Master’S Degree Student Persistence, Erin Schroeder

Educational Studies Dissertations

While there are a number of studies that focus on adult undergraduate and even doctoral persistence, adult master’s degree students and particularly those who study part time, are a population that have been overlooked by researchers. This constructivist, qualitative study of part-time master’s degree students used narrative inquiry and experience-centered narratives to bring rich descriptive data to the conversation surrounding the persistence of part-time master’s degree students and the barriers they face in pursuit of their degree. The data for this study was collected via semi-structured interviews with 15 participants and shows that part-time master’s degree students enrolled in Humanities …

Soft Skills In Mississippi Community Colleges' Online Career And Technical Programs, Joanna Sue Alston

Dissertations

Soft skills are an essential piece in the employment puzzle, and most students’ behavioral characteristics require development, if not complete transformation, before learning can subsequently be transferred to the workplace. To that end, this facet of occupational education in community colleges’ online courses was in need of exploration to determine whether instructors were having success in implementing instructional and assessment methods for both teaching and grading students’ soft skills behaviors. This mixed methods study narrowed the focus of an extremely broad topic to four skills, specifically communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and work ethic. A look at how those skills related …

Educational Neuroscience For Adult Education Students In The U.S. And Maine, J.Sean Chung

MA TESOL Collection

Cumulative scientific evidence over the last seventy years has established that the brain has a lifelong ability to change itself which has almost revolutionary implications for educators and mentors. No longer is the brain thought of as fixed, with a gradual loss of potentiality. Rather, experiences have been shown to have the ability to alter and prune the neural connections in the brain, allowing for lifelong learning, and, not as once thought, learning in youth only. This paper will explore such neuroplasticity from an educational perspective, in particular how various pedagogical approaches and experiences can sculpt the adult brain. The …

Mixed-Methods Evaluation Of A Developmental Math Program Redesign At A Community College, Elaine Sabrina Spellman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

North Carolina's community colleges redesigned developmental math programs in 2011. The overall effectiveness of the redesign has not yet been evaluated. A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted at Mid-Atlantic Community College (MACC) for a formative and summative evaluation of the redesigned program. Mezirow's transformative learning theory, along with an emphasis on designing individualized methods of instruction as outlined by Keller were the theoretical foundations of the evaluation. The extent to which the redesigned math modules affected the effectiveness of the math program at MACC was the guiding research question. Data on student outcomes and participant perceptions were collected for this …

Revisión Sistemática De Los Factores Que Inciden En La Deserción De Estudiantes A Distancia Y Su Impacto En Instituciones De Educación Superior En Colombia, Rafael Giraldo

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito fundamental de este estudio fue el de analizar de manera integral el ámbito educativo a distancia en educación superior, para identificar aquellos factores que han podido influenciar mayoritariamente a estudiantes adultos en instituciones de educación superior públicas y privadas en Colombia que ofrecen programas de educación a distancia, para que éstos tomen la decisión de abandonar los programas en los cuales han estado matriculados. Esta circunstancia afecta igualmente a las respectivas instituciones que están abocadas a encontrar soluciones que una vez implementadas ayuden a resolver el problema que es el objeto de este estudio.

Para esta investigación se …

Learner Persistence In English For Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Programs, Elyse Waksman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Persistence – or continued, intense study – is a common challenge for adults in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs because of various institutional, situational, and dispositional factors. The current state and federal funding standards for adult ESOL programs are driven by human capital theory, and therefore most funders require demonstrated employment outcomes for students. These top-down objectives do not always align with English learners’ own motivations and goals. ESOL organizations must consider the complexities of these interacting forces to develop effective persistence strategies for their constituents. This case study of an ESOL organization in central Massachusetts is …

A Biographical Study Of Bernard Lafayette, Jr. As An Adult Educator Including The Teaching Of Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation, Rozelia Maria Kennedy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the life and work of LaFayette, nonviolence and conflict reconciliation from an adult education perspective. This study explores LaFayette’s life from an early age through his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, his contributions to adult education, and his current views on social change. The nonviolence conflict reconciliation LaFayette teaches is based on the philosophy and strategies of Martin Luther King, Jr. During the last 50 years, LaFayette has been kidnapped, threatened, and survived ventures into hostile environments in his effort to teach nonviolence philosophy, strategies, and methods.

This historical/biographical study used …

A Strategic Approach To Leading And Managing Low Teacher Morale In An Adult Newcomer Education School Setting, Lenny Dinanath

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to produce a comprehensive and actionable plan to the problem of low teacher morale at Crest Wood Adult Education School (CWAES) which is a small, but rapidly expanding adult newcomer education school located in Ontario. Teachers’ morale and motivation increases when good working conditions exist and when they are offered opportunities to develop their professionalism and skills (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2005). A professional learning community (PLC) is central to the facilitating such learning opportunities which can be leveraged to improve students’ success and achievements. Leadership approach and style …

Identifying Reasons For Attrition At The Clemente Course In The Humanities, Worcester, Ma, Mollie Rayner-Haselkorn

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper identifies reasons for attrition and possible solutions to higher retention at the Clemente Course in the Humanities, Worcester (Clemente). Over the last four years, since the re-launch of the Clemente, the retention rate of students completing the program has remained around 50%. Clemente is an alternative, adult education program that provides college level humanities classes to majority low-income, minority adults. In this paper qualitative research methods are used to interview students, professors and an administrator at Clemente. Based upon qualitative research, supported by retention theory, three main reasons for attrition are identified: student academic self-esteem, diversity of student …

Factors Affecting Adult Speakers Of Other Languages' (Esol) Enrollment In English For Academic Purposes (Eap) Courses: A Multicase Study, Jacklyn Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation provided insight and identified impediments and obstacles in the areas of educational and societal assimilation, career and monetarist support, and academics to ascertain the effects they have on students transitioning from ESOL classes to EAP courses. Adult non-native speakers have evolved into an important segment of the adult population in the United States. Many Limited English Proficient (LEP) students lack the aptitude as it relates to the English language, often translating into lower wages, higher rates of poverty, and limited upward movement in the workplace. Researchers have identified several factors that may potentially influence the program participants …

Factors Affecting Employee Persistence In An Online Management Development Certificate Program, Todd D. Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important approach to prepare new managers for increased responsibility is participation in online management development programs; however, there is a lack of information about the factors that affect employee completion of these programs. This study addressed how chief executive officers (CEOs) can implement these programs to rapidly develop new managers who are qualified to serve in the leadership roles left behind by many retirees. This qualitative descriptive case study explored employees' perceptions about persistence in an online management development certificate program at a U.S. nonprofit organization. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Rovai's composite persistence model provided the conceptual framework for …

Exploring Literacies In The Assemblage Of Adult Education English For Speakers Of Other Languages Classrooms, Susan Watson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a posthuman perspective of adult second language and literacy learning using the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and his collaborative work with Félix Guattari, Masny’s (2005/6) multiple literacies theory or MLT, and DeLanda’s (2016) assemblage theory. Thinking with these scholars, I employ a post-qualitative, posthuman MLT conceptual framework to study literacy as a process that flows through and connects with globally-diverse students, languages, worldviews, and texts in the assemblage of adult education, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classrooms. I posit this assemblage as a remarkable and important context for literacy research …

An Exploration Of Identity Negotiation In Adult English Learners’ Communities Of Practice, Kathleen D. Rolander

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes Lave and Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice (COP) model to explore how ELLs navigate their positions within and between their many language learning communities. Drawing on Norton’s (1995, 2013) work on ELLs’ identity negotiation and Wenger’s 1998 work on the reinforcing impacts of identities between multiple COPs, this study explores what adults consider to be their COPs, how they perceive themselves within and between them, and how past, current, and imagined or possible COPs impact each other.

A constructivist, multiple case study design was used to focus on participants’ perceptions of their identity negotiation processes through their …

How African American Parents Prepare To Homeschool Their Children, Riquita Henry

Dissertations

This study explored and identified in what manner social learning prepares African- American parents to homeschooling. African-American parents seek information to educate their children; however, there is no universal process that can assist an early stage homeschooler on what information is needed to deliver content strategies for learning. The importance of social interaction coupled with adult education is recognized as a connection. In other words, information learned via a collaborative and self-taught manner allows homeschool parents to come together to share their knowledge with aims of assisting other parents in the home education process. Homeschoolers are faced with a daunting …

A Portrait In Black And White: An Analysis Of Race In The Adult Education Classroom, Tealia N. Deberry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult education is a reciprocal relationship between adult learners and adult education practitioners. As such, it is essential to understand the experiences of adult educators and adult education practitioners as they teach adults. This study focuses on how ideas about race and racism are examined in the graduate-level classroom and the adult learners’ experience as they focus on subject matter that challenges their assumptions and forces them to create new understandings about race. This study examines, through the portraiture methodology, the experiences of a White researcher and the adult learners engaging in dialogues about race in a CRT course.

The …

Sistahs For Success: An Adult Education Intervention Program To Increase Career Decsion Self-Efficacy For African American Women, Traci L. Hodges

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in career decision self-efficacy for African American women after participating in a short-term, adult education intervention program and to give voice to barriers and challenges experienced by African American women in their career development and the coping strategies they use to overcome these obstacles. In this quasi-experimental mixed methods study, a snowball sample of 20 African American women participated in a short-term adult education intervention program designed using Black feminist critical social theory and the career management model of social cognitive career theory. A pre-test-post-test control …

Perceptual Learning Styles Modalities Utilizing The Multimodal Paired Associates Learning Test: An Analysis Of Latinos Born In Central And South America, Matias Ramirez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Businesses and Human Resources professionals face the ongoing challenge of continuously upskilling and developing employees. Changes to processes or procedures, changes in technology, changes in job functions, and updates or changes to compliance laws or regulations are all reasons that employees must attend and complete employer-developed training. This study utilized the updated Multimodal Paired Associates Learning Test, version four (MMPALT-IV) instrument to determine perceptual learning styles and to determine if there exists a measureable difference in Latinos perceptual learning styles.

The purpose of this study was to measure the perceptual learning styles of Latino adults from Central and South America …

Relationship Between Health Literacy And Self-Directed Learning Readiness Of Older Adults, Robin Justice Dennis

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the health literacy level of older adults, age 65 and older, and the self-directed learning readiness score were correlated. After data cleaning, the number of cases was below the recommended rule of thumb. Deletion of cases indicated by the analyst of the self-directed learning readiness score (SDLRS-ABE), and imputation of missing data on the shortened test of functional health literacy (STOFHLA), limited the number of usable cases for analysis and presented a limitation to this study. A Pearson Correlation was then performed to determine any correlation between the scores on …

Maintaining Nurses' Currency In Informatics, Jennifer Alaine Strawn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Technology has changed how registered nurses (RNs) provide care at the bedside. As more technologies are utilized to improve quality of care, safety of care, maximize efficiencies, and decrease costs of care, one must question how well the information technologies (IT) are fully integrated and utilized by the front-line bedside nurse in his or her practice. Despite the pervasiveness of IT in healthcare, there is a paucity of literature on how Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) assure the ongoing education and training for nurses to maintain IT competencies in the practice environment.

From this author’s lived experience as a CNO, it …

Factors For Academic Success Among African-American Men: A Phenomenological Study, Samuel R. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Academic success among African men has increased but many African-American men continue to fall behind the academic achievements of their Caucasian male counterparts. African-American men who achieve academic success have been marginalized in research that primarily focuses on reporting deficit or negative factors that hinder and not promote academic growth. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify environmental, social, and socioeconomic factors that were perceived to contribute to the academic success of African-American men in secondary and post-secondary institutions. The researcher used the Ecological Model of Human Development (EMHD) to identify factors and which systems had the greatest …

Understanding And Promoting Parent-Child Sexual Health Communication, Shannon Phelps

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Parent-child sexual health communication (PCSHC) can have a positive impact on adolescents’ sexual health choices, outcomes, and capabilities for communicating with others about sexual health. Many parents are hesitant and feel unprepared for and uncomfortable with communicating about sexual health with their children. Other parental factors as well as child factors can impact the quality, frequency, coverage, and effectiveness of PCSHC. Some adolescent sexual health outcomes have improved, however, teen birth rates in the United States are elevated compared to other developed countries and half of all sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses are made to adolescents and emerging adults. This …

Jackson Creek Arts And Trails, Llc: Museum Travel Immersion Programs, Else C. Trygstad-Burke

Master's Projects and Capstones

Museums have become increasingly oriented towards reaching new audiences, encouraging visitor loyalty, and informing the public about their overall relevance. Innovation in programming is a centerpiece of this effort, including a provision of programs for all age groups and demographics. At the same time that this transformation occurs in the museum world, similar changes are taking place in the leisure, travel and tourism industries. A continuously rapid increase in globalism and cultural access contributes to an atmosphere in which travelers can expand their goals and purposes within the context of a travel experience. This report will demonstrate that these trends …

Factors That Affect Reattempting The Emergency Medical Technician Cognitive Certification Examination, Kim Darlene Mckenna

Dissertations

Certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is often the entry point for firefighting careers and is a pre-requisite to enter Advanced EMT or paramedic programs. EMT candidates in most of the United States must pass the National Registry of EMTs cognitive examination (NREMT-C) to be eligible for state licensure. Many candidates who fail their first NREMT-C attempt never take even one of the five additional possible attempts within the specified two-year time frame. Using binary logistic regression with de-identified existing NREMT test data from 2007 though 2012, this research attempted to develop a model to show the relative contribution …

Guided Educational Tourism As Informal Science Education: An Empirical Study, Joseph Martin Lane

Dissertations

The scientific research and education communities have long had the goal of advancing the publics’ understanding of science. Informal science education is a powerful mechanism for shaping human conduct, enhancing quality of life, and advancing the publics’ understandings and values regarding science. Guided educational tours (that present science content) provide visitors with unique opportunities to observe and discuss scientific phenomena in the field. Available empirical research related to learning science from guided educational tours is, at best, limited. Research leading to the development of effective guided educational tours that present and interpret scientific information is of interest to both non-profit …

Single Mothers Of Young Children And Continuing Education, Jackiethsha Lynette Fluellen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of households headed by single mothers living in poverty exceeds that of all other categories of poverty-stricken households, and poverty impacts the children negatively in various ways. When single mothers choose not to continue their education, they lessen their chances of finding higher paying jobs and raising their families out of poverty. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand why some single mothers decided to continue into higher education. The study considered the decisions of 6 single mothers of young children in Montgomery County, Texas, and the obstacles they overcame while completing their education. The …

Examining Barriers To Retention Of Adult Learners In Rural Education Programs, Tiffany Minyon Spivey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retention of adult learners in rural educational settings throughout the United States is challenging for adult education instructors. Adult learners in rural areas encounter internal and external barriers, including lack of self-efficacy and minimal transportation. Research exists regarding the retention of adult learners, but little is known about the barriers to persistence among adult learners in rural areas, or the motivations experienced by students and instructors. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify perceived barriers to retention at a rural adult learning center in Georgia and to provide suggestions to improve adult education and literacy initiatives. …