Education Commons^™

Measuring The Success Of Metropolitan And Nonmetropolitan Students At A Nonmetropolitan University, Janelle Taylor

All NMU Master's Theses

Nonmetropolitan students in higher education are an understudied population. This thesis uses data from the freshman class of 2011 at a mid-sized nonmetropolitan university to examine the success of nonmetro students at a nonmetro university. The data studied addresses the similarities and dissimilarities between metro and nonmetro students in the cohort in a number of categories: student location of origin, time to degree completion, whether a degree was attained, grade point average of graduating students, type of degree sought, and type of degree attained. Differences were found in the success rates of metro and nonmetro students at the institution. There …

Implementing A Rite Of Passage Intervention Through School-Based Extracurricular Activities: Instilling A Sense Of Belonging, Sharon Spry Dukes

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact implementing a rite of passage through school- based extracurricular activity has on a students’ sense of belonging. The students participating in the rite of passage are members of a school-based club known as the Orientation Team. The team consists of 24 students at an urban high school facing discipline challenges and a strained school climate. The intervention’s relationship with the theory of liminality will be explored.

Transnational Civic Education And Emergent Bilinguals In A Dual Language Setting, Marialuisa Di Stefano, Steve P. Camicia

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Inclusion is a fundamental aspect of social studies education in general and democratic education in particular. Inclusion is especially important when we consider the possibilities for transnational civic culture and education. The theoretical framework of this study is based upon concepts of positionality, identity, and belonging as they are related to student understanding of communities. A dual-language, third-grade classroom provided the site for this ethnographic study. Data included participant observations, interviews with the teacher and students, and artifacts of student work. Findings illustrate how the students in the study understood the complexity of their identities at a young age and …

Lunchtime Experiences And Students' Sense Of Belonging In Middle School, Anna Elisabeth Hinton

Theses and Dissertations

We know that it is important that students feel a sense of belonging in school, but additional research is needed to better understand the influences on belonging, especially for junior high and middle school students. Junior high lunchtime is an ideal space to study as a potential influence on belonging because it is a central part of the secondary school experience and it is a social space for students. The purpose of this study is to connect lunchtime experiences to school belonging by showing that how students experience lunchtime and how this affects their overall sense of belonging in school.Descriptive …

Building Belonging: The Impact Of Physical Space On Student Sense Of Belonging In Student Leadership, Involvement, And Changemaking At The University Of San Diego, Madeline Kreig

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this research is to understand how the structure of the Student Leadership, Involvement, and Changemaking (SLIC) space influences students’ sense of belonging. This study uses Mills’ (2000) Dialectic Action Research Spiral in conjunction with surveys, interviews, and focus groups to explore the questions: How does the structure of the Student Leadership, Involvement, and Changemaking space influence undergraduate students’ sense of belonging? Also, how can I, as a student affairs practitioner, enhance students’ sense of belonging in the SLIC?

In the context of this study, sense of belonging refers to the extent that one feels accepted, respected, included, …

Underrepresented Student Involvement With The Office Of Sustainability, Jelitsa Fonseca

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to further understand the disconnect between sustainability efforts and the underrepresented student population at the University of San Diego (USD). One of the main concerns of this study is why underrepresented students are not getting involved in sustainability activities on campus, and whether or not that is due to being a minority on campus, which may impact how they choose to get involved in these efforts. The main research questions are: How can I help the Office of Sustainability at USD reach out to underrepresented students who may have stigmas and/or stereotypes towards sustainability? …

Self Efficacy, Sense Of Belonging, And Sense Of Obligation In First Generation College Students, Bridgett Hernandez

Psychology | Senior Theses

First generation college (FGC) students are people whose parents didn’t earn a college degree (Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014). FGC students may come from marginalized backgrounds, which may limit or hinder their higher education experience (Nuñez, 2009). Self-efficacy is necessary for FGC students to surpass the challenges they face, as those who feel less capable don’t continue the pursuit of higher education. FGC students may feel like their demographics or the challenges they face are magnified by the salient stereotypes of their group identification (Wout, Danso, Jackson, & Spencer, 2008), which could then make them feel like they don’t belong …

Eliciting Student Voice To Explore The Need For Culturally Responsive Teaching In Secondary Schools, Henna Lopez Rahimi

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The aim of this research was to elicit student voice in regard to school climate, belonging, racial identity, and culturally responsive teaching. The study focused on gleaning a greater understanding of important factors that influence the academic achievement gap in a secondary school with predominantly White students and a minority group of students of color. Current studies are limited when it comes student perspective on the effects of culturally responsive teaching, identity formation, belonging, and school climate in this specific demographic. Methodology included an anonymous online survey with 52 participants and three distinct focus groups with 13 total participants. Findings …

Repairing Wounds And Promoting Belonging And Resiliency In A Tracked English Classroom, Emily Wolper

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A large body of research shows that academic tracking has the potential to negatively impact a student’s feeling of belonging on campus. However, students express a greater sense of belonging when they take classes with students who mirror some aspect of their identity. The purpose of this study was to understand the complex ways in which students in tracked or low-level classes develop their identity as learners and experience belonging at school with a predominantly white students and staff. Participants included students who were enrolled in Academic English and Support English classes during the 2017-2018 school year. Support students participated …

The Congruence Of Academic Motivation And Catholic Education, Monica J. Kowalski

eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia

Student motivation is of central concern for all teachers, as students cannot learn if they are not engaged and attentive during class. This essay describes how Catholic schools are uniquely designed to promote positive motivational patterns in students based on their foundation in the mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Paschal Mystery relates to students pursuing mastery goals and persisting through challenges, the Trinitarian Mystery reflects the focus on community and belongingness, the Incarnation relates to striving for excellence, and the Eucharist reflects the need for purpose. When Catholic schools are rooted in these mysteries and the mission of the …

Rural Students’ Sense Of Belonging At A Large Public University, Benjamin P. Heinisch

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

This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate students from rural areas experience higher education environments and develop a sense of belonging at a large Midwestern public university. This study defined rural considering students’ hometown population size and density as well as each individual participant’s constructed reality of a rural identity (Crockett, Shanahan, & Jackson-Newsom, 2000). The following questions guided this study: (1) How does students’ identification with their rural background influence how they experience their college environment? (2) What do rural students see as key environmental factors affecting their sense of belonging? (3) Is the institution providing supportive environments for …

Creating Grace And Space: The Foundation On Which Progressive Educators Build A Sense Of Belonging And Safety For Marginalized Gender And Sexual Diverse High School Students, Lisa M. Ortiz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This descriptive case study focused on a single high school community which is intentional in its efforts to craft a school culture, fostering belonging and safety in students who are Gender and Sexual Diverse (GSD). The researcher examined the perspectives of classroom-based and non-classroom-based educators, as they strove to articulate how they address the needs of this student-population without negatively impacting academic and other school priorities, and how they incorporate understandings regarding this population into their practice. Through a multi-phase process including interviews, observations, focus group, and document analysis, the researcher explored how seven educator-participants navigate changing demographics both personally …

Friendship And Language: How Kindergarteners Talk About Making Friends In A Two-Way Immersion School, Sionelle Nicole Beller

Theses and Dissertations

Research on adolescents sense of belonging in schools is plentiful; however, there is an obvious lack of research conducted in early childhood years. Friendship groups have been shown to be impactful in helping students feel like they belong in school. This study explores how kindergarteners talk about friendship in the context of belonging in a two-way immersion school. I pay particular attention to the role primary language plays in developing a sense of belonging and friendships at school. The 19 kindergarteners in this study were interviewed in small linguistically homogenous groups of 2 or 3 students. Each focus group was …

Friendship And Language: How Kindergarteners Talk About Making Friends In A Two-Way Immersion School, Sionelle Nicole Beller

Theses and Dissertations

Research on adolescents sense of belonging in schools is plentiful; however, there is an obvious lack of research conducted in early childhood years. Friendship groups have been shown to be impactful in helping students feel like they belong in school. This study explores how kindergarteners talk about friendship in the context of belonging in a two-way immersion school. I pay particular attention to the role primary language plays in developing a sense of belonging and friendships at school. The 19 kindergarteners in this study were interviewed in small linguistically homogenous groups of 2 or 3 students. Each focus group was …

Alternative To Expulsion, Shauna Bock, Dan Wolf

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Dan and I would give an overview of the Alternative to Expulsion program, how we created it, how much it costs, how we do it. The target audience would be middle school and high school teachers, and administrators. We would discuss the differences between our elementary program and our middle/high school program. Dan and I have worked together a long time and have a great presentation style

Articulating Identities And Analyzing Belonging: A Multistep Intervention That Affirms And Informs A Diversity Of Students, Alison Cook-Sather

Education Program Faculty Research and Scholarship

This article describes a multistep intervention developed for an undergraduate course called ‘Advocating Diversity in Higher Education.’ The goal of the intervention was to affirm diversity and foster a sense of inclusion among students within and beyond the course. We contextualize the intervention in student protests during 2015 and 2016 regarding racial and other forms of discrimination on college and university campuses in the United States, and we describe how it is informed by several theoretical frames and associated practices: intersectionality, belonging, and radical pedagogical partnership. Co-authored by the faculty member who co-designed and co-taught the course, an undergraduate student …

Listening To Equity-Seeking Perspectives: How Students’ Experiences Of Pedagogical Partnership Can Inform Wider Discussions Of Student Success, Alison Cook-Sather

Education Program Faculty Research and Scholarship

Discussions in higher education have proliferated in recent years regarding not only how to recruit a greater diversity of students but also how to support their success. The voices of students themselves, particularly those students traditionally underrepresented in and underserved by higher education, have important contributions to make to these discussions. This article draws on a larger study of the perspectives of undergraduate students who identify as members of equity-seeking groups (e.g., students who are racialized, LGBTQ+ and first generation) and who have collaborated with faculty in a bi-college, classroom-focused, pedagogical partnership program in the United States. Using constant comparison/grounded …

Narratives Of Place And Land: Teaching Indigenous Histories In Australian And New Zealand Teacher Education, Richard Manning, Neil Harrison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article offers a trans-Tasman critique of approaches to the teaching of history in New Zealand and Australia. Taking knowledge out of place and time and presenting it in textbooks is a conflicted task for schooling in both countries. The disembodiment of knowledge in history books has led students to the proclamation that the teaching of history in schools is ‘boring’ and irrelevant to their lives. The authors seek a way out of this dilemma in proposing that the teaching of Indigenous history in schools must recognise that Indigenous historical narratives are intimately tied to the ecologies of places – …

Exploring African American Students’ Perceptions Of Belonging At An Urban Community College In The Western United States, Sylinda Nicole Gordon Musaindapo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

African American students’ perceptions of belonging impact their experiences on community college campuses and in their local communities. This research study explores the impact of gentrification on a group of resilient African American college students in an urban community college located in the western region of the United States. Participants used negative experiences with onlyness and otherness as opportunities to build community for other African Americans.

Understanding The Perceptions Of High School Dropouts With Disabilities In The Commonwealth Of The Northern Mariana Islands, Yvonne R. Pangelinan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 5 years, high school students with disabilities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have experienced a higher rate of dropout compared to their peers, adding to an ever-widening gap in learning and graduation rates. The rationale for this study was the growing numbers of dropouts among students with disabilities that contribute to high rates of poor performing schools and create a burden on the local and federal government as the CNMI employment rates decline and reliance on the U.S. government for support increases. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of …

The Development Of Social Capital Through International Students' Involvement In Campus Organizations, Chris R. Glass, Peggy Gesing

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study examines campus organization involvement as a mechanism for social capital development. Researchers used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine variations in network size, strength, and composition for international students involved in different types of campus organizations. The researchers also examined the relationship of campus organization involvement to international students’ sense of attachment to the university. Students who participated in major-based organizations or leadership programs had larger, less dense, more diverse networks that lead to social networks which are particularly advantageous to social mobility. Students who participated in campus organizations related to their own cultural heritage had networks built …