Education Commons^™

Experiences Affecting Associate Degree In Nursing Program Graduates’ Decisions To Pursue A Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Degree, David P. Bartos

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative research study explored those experiences that influenced associate degree in nursing (ADN) graduates’ decisions to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing degree (BSN) after they had graduated from a two year nursing program at a state community college in a Southeast region state. The research design used was phenomenological research tradition, using semi-structured interviews to identify participants’ experiences, and Moustakas’ phenomenal data analysis to analyze the collected narrative data to determine themes from the acquired experiences. ADN registered nurses (RN) who had graduated from a specific state community college nursing program participated in this study. Life experiences …

Resiliency Of Community College Students With Adverse Childhood Experiences, Laura Elizabeth Brogden

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as defined by Drs. Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda are prevalent in the general population of the United States. These childhood traumas are strongly related to risky behaviors and poor health outcomes. The results of childhood stress may influence students at community colleges. This study of community college students with identified adverse childhood experiences will describe their perceived experiences in community colleges as they relate to their success and completion. This study is done in a framework of resilience in order to identify factors which may be influential in students’ progress and completion. Keywords: community college, …

Perceptions Of Impediments To The Advancement Of Women Leaders In Community Colleges, Teresa Alley Yearout

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

As community college presidents, chief operating officers (CEOs), and other senior level administrators plan to retire, the critical demand for qualified leaders brings greater focus on previous trends and current statistics in community colleges leadership. These findings provide evidence of the continuing underrepresentation of women in senior level leadership positions. Further investigation examines women leaders’ perceptions of the barriers or impediments to their advancement into these leadership positions. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of impediments of women community college leaders in a variety of institutional settings (rural, suburban, urban).

The literature provided an inventory …

Community, Identity, And Transition: Student Veterans And Academic Writing At The Two-Year College, Mark Edward Blaauw-Hara

English Theses & Dissertations

Higher education is experiencing an almost unprecedented influx of student veterans. However, research is sparse on their transition to college, and, in particular, their experiences with college writing. Additionally, current scholarship focuses mainly on veterans at four-year schools. This dissertation describes six student veterans’ transitions to academic writing at the community college. Based on a case-study approach, the study seeks to identify key themes in student veterans’ experiences with learning and writing in the military and compare them to their experiences learning and writing in college. In addition to locating areas of disconnect, the study highlights typical strengths student veterans …

Motivation, Persistence, And Achievement In Community College Asynchronous Online Courses, Rachel Michelle Desmarais

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Community college students enrolled in asynchronous online courses were examined for the correlational effects of motivation factors upon achievement and persistence in major and non-major courses. A modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) was employed to obtain measurements on motivation and self-regulatory factors. Demographic factors and first generation student status were used to determine any interaction effects.

A series of binary logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between self-efficacy and modified MSLQ task value on persistence for these students. A series of ordinal logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between …

Engaging Community College Students Using An Engineering Learning Community, James Maccariella Jr.

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The study investigated whether community college engineering student success was tied to a learning community. Three separate data collection sources were utilized: surveys, interviews, and existing student records. Mann-Whitney tests were used to assess survey data, independent t-tests were used to examine pre-test data, and independent t-tests, analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to examine post-test data. The study found students that participated in the Engineering TLC program experienced a significant improvement in grade point values for one of the three post-test courses studied. In addition, the analysis revealed the odds of fall-to-spring retention were …