Education Commons^™

The Challenges Of Conducting Qualitative Research In Quantitative Culture: Saudi Arabia As A Case Study, ِAbdulrahman Awdah Albeladi

The Qualitative Report

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), qualitative research methods are infrequently employed, as researchers in the region are more accustomed to quantitative approaches, with a certain hesitancy to embrace qualitative methodology. This research endeavor focuses on exploring the impediments faced by individuals engaged in qualitative research within the Saudi context. To do so, I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight doctoral students and employed a qualitative case study design for this paper. Utilizing the MAXQDA software, I also applied thematic analysis to the data gathered from the interviews. The primary findings highlight three significant themes: (a) challenges related to organizational …

Fish In A Tree Book Study Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Individuals lead storied lives, and everyone has a story to tell. Our stories can be shared orally and documented in print. Often, learners are exposed to stories through novels and other trade books. Teacher educators may benefit from using the stories in novels and trade books as case studies in preservice teacher preparation course. This assignment description outlines how to use the novel, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, as a case study to contextualize and understand the lived story of an individual living and learning with dyslexia. Through the novel, preservice teachers experience the dilemmas faced and …

Embracing Diverse Thinkers: A Case Study Examining The Graduation Rates From A High Autism College Student Population, Beverly Donovan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to describe how Alpha College, a private college in the southeastern United States with high neurodiverse enrollment, generates uniquely high graduation rates for its autistic student population. The case study answers the following central question: CQ) How does Alpha College, a private college in the southeastern United States with high neurodiverse enrollment, generate high graduation rates for its autistic student population? The intrinsic case design focused on the case itself; Alpha College observes uniquely high graduation rates of autistic students. This study was guided by Blume and Singers' social stigma theory and …

Navigating The Financial Aid Application Process: The Voices Of First-Generation College Students, Holly Kirkpatrick

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative case-study explored how the financial aid application process contributed to or detracted from the persistence of first-generation college (FGC) students. FGC students are the first in their families to attend college and make up one-third of college-going students each year (RTI International, 2019). FGC students use financial aid at a higher rate than their continuing generation peers, are less likely to have funding from outside sources, such as their parents (Martinez et al., 2009), are more likely to default on their student loans, and do not persist to graduation at the same rate as their non-FGC peers. Semi-structured …

Successful Admissions In A Time Of Great Uncertainty: A Case Study Of Employees' Perceptions Of Employee Well-Being And Emotional Intelligence, Sarah Freed

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative embedded single-case study explores admissions employees’ perceptions of departmental success and individual employee well-being, including the role emotional intelligence has on these outcomes, through the lens of Bolman and Deal’s Four Frame Model (1984). This study is necessary because of the turbulent higher education landscape and because social factors contributing to this turbulence are expected to stay the same. More specifically, this study is situated in a thriving Office of First-Year Admissions at an institution within a public university system in a rural setting experiencing an unstable organizational landscape. I interviewed sixteen employees in a successful mid-size public …

A Case Study Of Makerere University In Uganda Through The Lens Of U.S. Land-Grant Higher Education, Christina L. Hand

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This case study examines Makerere University through the lens of U.S. land-grant ideal and normative domains in order to provide a deeper understanding of global higher education. A case study uses multiple types of data to create a holistic perspective. As well as interviewing Makerere stakeholders representing diverse sectors, numerous documents and different types of media were analyzed enabling a triangulation of data. Six major themes emerged focusing on Makerere’s aspiration to be a research-led institution, the impact of neoliberalism, challenges in undergraduate education, the importance of reputation and saga, the ever-present role of the Ugandan government, and the continuing …

Centering Culture And Relationships In Learning: Culturally Responsive Teaching In Higher Education, Valerie Vistain

Dissertations

In colleges and universities all across the United States, the amount of culturally and linguistically diverse students has increased significantly. Research has shown that when educators can develop educational practices and curricula that account for and incorporate students’ cultural frameworks, outcomes improve for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Culturally responsive teaching is a pedagogical approach that does just that. This research project aimed to bring to light the various ways that general education professors define and enact culturally responsive teaching practices. It further illustrates how students receive and interpret these culturally responsive approaches. Using the general education college within a …

Using An Interdisciplinary Case Study To Incorporate Quantitative Reasoning In Social Work, Nursing, And Mathematics, Elizabeth Post, Mischelle Stone, Lauren Cavner Williams, Mary Beaudry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Through the national consortium, SUMMIT-P, Ferris State University faculty collaborated to develop and scaffold mathematics and quantitative reasoning across disciplines to reduce math anxiety. Participants in this collaborative group included faculty from social work, nursing, and mathematics who developed a case study on a Hurricane Katrina scenario that necessitated calculating the need for emergency shelter, water, food, and medicine, and as a response to the potential for a Malaria outbreak. This particular case study allowed faculty to use the lens of social justice to teach mathematical concepts and provided an avenue for nursing and social work students to engage in …

An Exploration Of A Researcher-Instructor Partnership In Implicit Racial Bias Awareness And Mitigation In College Stem Classrooms, Jacqueline Johnson Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Seventy-six percent of all minority students who enter college with declared majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) do not graduate with STEM degrees. Black students represent 40% of minority attrition from STEM. Implicit racial bias was indicated as a contributor to the challenges faced by Black students. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a researcher-instructor partnership brought awareness to and the potential for mitigation of implicit racial bias in course delivery and instructor interactions with Black students in STEM classes. A case study design was used over three phases to gather survey, observational, and interview …

Self-Evaluation Of Educational Leadership Practices During Covid-19, Mike Coquyt

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts, and specifically, superintendents, are under increased pressure to lead. Irregularity and ambiguity are now the mantras of those tasked with leading in our schools. Many current research studies aim to evaluate the possible effects of COVID-19 on the system of education (Azorín, 2020; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2020), and advice on how to lead during a crisis (Harris & Jones, 2020; Leithwood et al., 2020, Netolicky, 2020). There are no standards or benchmarks to follow that could potentially aid school leaders as they navigate, lead, and make important decisions that affect how quality instruction …

Building Community Using Experiential Education With Elementary Preservice Teachers In A Social Studies Methodology Course, Stephanie Speicher

Journal of Global Education and Research

There is urgency for teacher educators to instruct preservice teachers in the tenants of social justice education. This urgency is based upon the American demographic landscape and the responsibility of educators to teach for social justice. Preservice teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to educate for social justice when entering the classroom setting (citations from below). Feelings of incompetence in social justice teaching expressed among preservice teachers coupled with minimal examination in the literature of the effects of teacher education practices that aid in the readiness to teach for social justice provided the foundation for this study. This study examined experiential …

Building Capacity To Alleviate Poverty Through National Service: An Evaluation Plan Guided By Community Partner Perspectives, Laura E. Martin

eJournal of Public Affairs

This paper explores how a national service program, the Mid-South VISTA Project (MSVP), impacts community partner organizations through capacity building activities. MSVP is housed at Mid-South University and extends the community-engaged activities of campus units and while building capacity at partner organizations. The project considers dimensions of nonprofit capacity building, navigating the community-campus partnership process, and the legacy of the VISTA program. The data presented here are part of a larger case study of how programs housed at MSU’s community engagement center impact community partner organizations. Findings from interviews with fifteen VISTA supervisors guide the development of an evaluation plan …

Next Generation Open Textbooks: A Case Study, Christine R. Ingersoll, Larry Sheret

SOJMC Faculty Research

Design Across the Disciplines: Learning the value of communication design through practice” is an OER (open educational resource), digital textbook under prototype testing in a media design course. The text is created in collaboration with a librarian, two faculty from different colleges and two students who have completed the course. This interdisciplinary team was formed with the directive to embrace the powers of design thinking through digital content to develop a product that truly recognizes the needs of the primary users, our students and key stakeholders, the faculty. Several semesters of student feedback provided the insights for considering textbook cost; …

The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program: A Case Study Of The Use Of Forgivable Loans In Recruiting Future Stem Teachers, Katie N. Smith

Journal of Student Financial Aid

In 2018-2019, North Carolina implemented a loan forgiveness program to recruit talented postsecondary students into teaching majors in needed subject areas. This qualitative case study analyzes the influence of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program (NCTFP) on 10 student participants’ college, major, and career plans in STEM education to understand how loan incentives shaped student interest in teaching careers in STEM subjects. Findings reveal that forgivable loan funding influenced college choice among those choosing institutions at the time of NCTFP acceptance. While the NCTFP was most appealing to participants who already planned to become STEM educators, there is also evidence …

The Effects Of Entrepreneurial Education On Haitian Entrepreneurs Of The Bel Initiative Program, Ronald Cetoute

Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurship is seen as a vehicle to improve the economy of communities and countries. BEL Initiative is a program that provides entrepreneurship education and resources to entrepreneurs based in Haiti. The program supports the ecosystem in Haiti with the intention to contribute to Haiti’s economy through education and promoting investment. Though the program seems to be helping educate entrepreneurs, what effects do participants of the BEL Initiative have on the Haitian economy? What do they take away from the program? Furthermore, what concepts and information are they able to apply in Haiti’s business environment from American influenced entrepreneurship education?

The …

From Interpreting Student To Deaf Interpreter: A Case Study Of Vocational Identity Development, Margie English, Brenda Nicodemus, Danielle I. J. Hunt, Stephan Kennedy, Mckenna Mcgough

Journal of Interpretation

Research indicates that the development of a vocational identity is critical to the process of adult maturation and for creating a sense of purpose in one’s life. Deaf individuals in the United States are increasingly interested in establishing a vocation in signed language interpreting, despite workplace obstacles experienced by other oppressed and marginalized populations. Career identity has been examined in several professions, but little is known about the factors underlying the vocational identity development of Deaf interpreters. To address this gap, the researchers adopted a case study approach to explore the experiences of two Deaf students during their first semester …

A Study Of Student Experiences In The Secondary Transition Program Through Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions, Kelley M. Sells

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine and analyze the perceptions of students with mild-moderate disabilities, teachers, and parents regarding the students’ experiences related to their secondary transition plan. More specifically, the qualitative single-case study sought to identify areas of alignment and divergence of these three key members’ perspectives since experiences and perceptions are unique to an individual based on the context and individual’s perspective of the event. These findings suggested that the district showed experiences of valuable student presence and input in their IEP meetings and trusting supportive student-teacher relationships. The study also revealed that significant barriers …

A Case Study Of One Small Christian College Overcoming Decline And Implementing An Institutional Turnaround, Richard H. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies and national data show a growing number of small, private, Christian colleges face extreme difficulties, which often result in decline, followed by closure or merging with larger, higher education institutions. Attempting to overcome the loss of student revenue from a declining enrollment, many small colleges raise tuition prices, spend endowment funds, and overextend themselves with high debt payments. Countering the increased tuition prices, these colleges often increase scholarships and financial aid, which reduces available funds for other institutional needs. Other challenging issues include meeting accreditation standards, raising money for operational and capital needs, and the general public losing …

Exploring The Impact Of Early Exposure To Research On Dual Enrollment Students: A Qualitative Single-Case Study, Kevin A. Adkins, Jorge L. D. Albelo, Samantha Bowyer

Publications

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) provides a concurrent enrollment model to high schools across the United States. The concurrent enrollment opportunity offers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college-credit coursework taught by college-credentialed instructors on the student’s high school campus. One faculty member transitioned to Embry-Riddle’s main residential campus following seven years of service with ERAU’s concurrent enrollment program. During his tenure with ERAU’s concurrent enrollment program, in addition to instructing a variety of concurrent enrollment courses, he maintained an active research agenda that involved concurrently enrolled students. His transition was preceded by the matriculation of a subset of these students …

A Multiple Case Study Investigating Principles Of Design And Implementation Of Operational Safety Plans For Crises At Colleges, Universities, And Affiliated Institutions, Antonio Passaro, Jr.

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In the wake of the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy, the Virginia state legislature mandated that all college-affiliated institutions create an operational safety plan for natural and manmade crises. Previous empirical research has mostly focused on documenting faculty and students’ perceptions of campus safety, preparations for manmade crises over natural disasters, and enhancing specific aspects of emergency responses for future incidents. Thus, design and implementation “best practices” for higher education operational safety plan protocols is an understudied, yet burgeoning area of inquiry. To address this literature gap, a comparative case study of five institutions was conducted using a novel document analysis …

Critical Foundations For Civic Engagement: Reimagining Civic Learning For A University Honors Program, Alison Handy Twang, Benjamin J. Deangelis, Justine L. Lewis, Elizabeth A. Mellin, Katherine S H Bouman, William L. Ziegler

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

Scholars are calling attention to shortcomings of service-learning, including the development of civic skills and adoption of a social change framework. Informed by this literature, this article uses a mixed-methods case study to detail the development, and initial outcomes, of a civic engagement course intended to lay a critical foundation for future service. This study documents the process of reimagining the class, formerly organized as a service project, and course evaluations and reflections are used to assess outcomes. Initial assessment signals impact in challenging previous assumptions about service, understanding the multifaceted nature of civic engagement, and motivating future responsible engagement.

Going The Distance: A Case Study Of One Community College's Journey Across The Digital Divide, Michael Robert Jolley

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

Rural communities throughout the nation continue to lag their urban and suburban peers in access to high-speed internet service. This digital divide affects rural populations in a myriad of ways, but access to higher educational opportunities may be most problematic. While the promise of technology to level the field for rural students continues to offer hope, the scarcity of broadband service lingers. This qualitative instrumental case study explores how one exceptional rural community college in the Great Plains developed the capacity to deliver distance education programming. The study relies upon Rogers's theory of diffusion of innovations to validate the extent …

Utilizing The Stepped Care Model To Empower University Students With Learning Disabilities, Nick R. Abel, Justin Jacques

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Students with learning disabilities face several challenges in postsecondary education settings. The authors explore the issue and shed light on the importance of self-advocacy for academic success. The stepped care model (SCM) is suggested as an approach to assist college students with learning disabilities in developing these skills and obtaining services. A brief case example from 1 of the authors’ work is shared to illustrate the use of the SCM with a student with a learning disability.

Community Engagement Through Interactive Field-Based Activities, Carolyn Casale, C. Adrainne Thomas

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This qualitative case study consisted of social justice interactive field-based experiential learning activities designed to understand community partnerships between a university and local public school. The research question was: How can interactive field-based activities build closer community ties? The theoretical foundation incorporated Ken Zeichner’s “hybrid spaces” with the premise of field-based interactive experiences. The findings indicated the need for further activities that create partnerships between teacher education programs and neighboring public schools.

Writing And Implementing An Open Textbook In World Regional Geography: A Case Study, Caitlin Finlayson

Geography Articles

As the rising cost of college textbooks has outpaced both inflation and increases in tuition fees, this expense has created a significant barrier to student learning. Some instructors have adopted or created open educational resources, meaning materials which are freely and openly available. While the most obvious benefit of open course content might be cost savings, the fact that these materials can be freely adapted and changed can have substantial impact on the learning experience itself and enable an instructor to completely change the structure and outcomes of a course. This paper provides a case study on writing an open …

A Decade Of Building The Community-Engaged School Of Health And Human Sciences At The University Of North Carolina Greensboro, Emily M. Janke, Joi Bulls, Dave Demo, Celia Hooper, Jeremy Rinker

eJournal of Public Affairs

This case example illustrates key opportunities, processes, and outcomes of nearly a decade of intentional efforts to build and support community-engaged faculty culture and institutionalization in the School of Health and Human Sciences at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Situated within a university-wide, faculty-led movement to institutionalize support for community engagement through policy and practice, we describe the motivation of faculty and administrative leadership to integrate support for community engagement across teaching, research and service roles in the Health and Human Sciences unit at UNCG. We present critical moments of opportunity that were leveraged by faculty and administrative leadership …

Understanding The First-Year Experience Of Traditional-Aged, College-Ready Students At A Private, New England Liberal Arts College, Patrick Flynn

Educational Studies Dissertations

The current study’s research problem concerns the forty-year trend of college-ready, traditional-aged students stopping out of undergraduate programs across the United States. While literature concerning gender theory, the college transition, emerging adulthood, and college student development provide a foundation for considering the problem, there have been very few studies conducted concerning the FYE of this study’s participants, a set of five white cisgender males. Understanding their FYE at a substantive level will lead to further research and hopefully open pathways to increasing retention.

The present study collected significant data concerning the daily experience of five students with the hope of …

Asynchronous Electronic Feedback For Faculty Peer Review: Formative Feedback That Makes A Difference, Chad Rohrbacher

Publications

This case study at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach campus (ERAU-DB) describes the process of facilitating a faculty peer observation model that uses asynchronous electronic feedback through the Teaching Partners program offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE). This practical, hybrid model of peer observation builds on practices found in current models and uses digital recording and web-based software to encourage faculty feedback that will positively impact their pedagogical practice. The results of this study suggest to truly cultivate a dialogue between faculty and/or education developer in the process, the goals should be clearly stated, the …

Arriving At A Better Answer: A Decision Matrix For Science Lab Course Format, Emily K. Faulconer, Laura S. Faulconer, James R. Hanamean

Publications

At first glance, scientific laboratory experiences might appear to be challenging to move to the cloud. Skeptics may point to sensory feedback limitations and inequivalence of student outcomes. However, emerging data increasingly provide evidence that scientific laboratory courses are not only amenable to online learning, but also can deliver student outcomes at or above traditional in-person courses. In identifying a science lab format, each institution weighs factors like lab course goals, budget, program growth, access, and safety. This article presents a single case study and a decision matrix for how one institution informed their choice for the modality of a …

Fostering Sense Of Belonging : A Multi-Case Study Of Black Male Retention Initiatives., Jarrod Elliott Druery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The retention and graduation rates of Black male collegians continues to be a work in progress for colleges and universities in the U.S. Researchers have highlighted impediments to student success and degree attainment of this population at historically White institutions (HWIs)—with racism being prominent. As a result, recent efforts have been made to promote success and persistence among Black men in college. Within the last decade, Black male initiatives (BMI) have emerged on college campuses across the country. BMIs are programs aimed at increasing persistence and success among Black male collegians. Based on the newness of these initiatives, there is …