Education Commons^™

Being A (Good) Student: Conceptions Of Identity Of Adult Basic Education Participants Transitioning To College, Mina Reddy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the perceptions of identity of a category of students that has rarely been studied in the context of higher education. These are adults who have participated in GED preparation or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. A college education is increasingly necessary for individual economic success and a higher quality of life, and a college-educated workforce is a major element in national economic competitiveness. Rates of college enrollment and persistence of ABE students, however, are low. The study seeks to determine how ABE students and graduates conceive of their …

A Narrative Inquiry Exploring How College Communication Professors Engage Students With Public Speaking Apprehensions, Derek Riedel

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how communication professors at four-year private universities help students who exhibit public speaking apprehension (PSA) learn to cope with their anxiety. The research was framed in the narrative inquiry paradigm, interviewing eight college communication professors about their experiences working with public speaking students. Each of the eight professors worked at private universities in a large southwest metropolitan city. The researcher attempted to gather critical incidents that shed light on valuable learning experiences that could be useful to professors looking for ways to help reduce their students' PSA. The researcher found three …

A Qualitative Analysis Of High School Students' Experiences In The Latinos In Action Program, Johann Paul Simonds

Theses and Dissertations

This research was a qualitative program evaluation of students' perceptions of Latinos in Action (LIA), a peer-mentoring program that seeks to improve high school Latino graduation rates and college admittance. The study was conducted with college students who participated in the program in high school. LIA graduates were interviewed to determine what major factors influenced and supported them in their academic decisions. Additional data included an interview with the program director, results from the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), and a video of one of the interviewees. The researcher explored students' experiences in the LIA program with the …

How To Predict Success In College, Holland Martini

Honors Theses

This paper examines the Union College system for determining the academic quality of its applicants. Currently, Union College uses five criteria: high school GPA; rank; strength of schedule; quality of high school; and SAT/ACT scores, if available. Using data on about 1600 students, I examine the predictive power of these criteria for the performance of a student at Union. As a measure of performance I use cumulative GPA at Union and whether or not the student is still enrolled in Spring 2011. I find that the five criteria predict about 25% of the variation in GPA at Union. With the …

Exploring How White And Asian American Students Experience Cross-Racial Interactions: A Phenomenological Study, Thomas E. Robinson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Interracial interactions between college students are responsible for important learning outcomes, however many colleges and universities have failed to purposefully encourage students to interact across racial backgrounds. As a result of a lack purposefully facilitated cross-racial interactions (CRIs), fewer interracial interactions occur on U.S. campuses and this has diminished the important learning outcomes that those interactions accrue. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how 25 White and Asian American students, within two divergent campus settings, experienced interracial interactions. Findings demonstrated that environmental and individual characteristics shaped how students experienced CRIs. Environmental factors that influenced CRIs included the …

College Students With Claustrophobia In The Classroom And Quality Of Life: A Literature Review, Andrew W. Nielsen Sr.

M.A. in Professional Counseling

Claustrophobia can be defined as the fear of enclosed spaces such as small rooms, tunnels, elevators, and basements. Some of the symptoms a student with claustrophobia may experience are both physiological and psychological. Claustrophobia affects three out of every one hundred people. For example, a college with a population of 2500 undergraduate students could have on average 75 students that would be claustrophobic. Of those 75; there is a chance that some may not even be aware of their claustrophobia. One of the purposes of this thesis is to assess if alleviating the occurrence of claustrophobic incidents could possibly improve …

Gaps In Developmental Mathematics Course Sequence Impede Success In College Algebra, Hector Espinosa Gonzales

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of gaps or stop outs within the developmental mathematics course sequence on the successful completion of college algebra.

Community colleges are undergoing a transformation. Historically, they have been focused on improving access to higher education; now the focus has shifted to student success. This transformation is evident in the concerted effort to improve student graduation rates and decrease the amount of time spent to complete degrees. For community colleges, the key to this success must include reform and improvement in developmental education. Within developmental education, mathematics presents the biggest challenge …

Analyzing The University Of Tennessee And Its Peer Institutions For Structural Support Of Queer Individuals, Rick A. Mula

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Writing Across Institutions: Studying The Curricular And Extracurricular Journeys Of Latina/O Students Transitioning From High School To College, Todd Ruecker

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is based on a year and a half multi-institutional study of seven Mexican American students transitioning from high school to a community college or a university. It explores the differences between high school, community college, and university literacy environments, focusing on the following: the impact of standardized testing at the high school level, the role of rhetoric and composition disciplinary expertise in shaping first-year composition (FYC) curricula, writing in the disciplines, and the digital divide between institutions. Seven case studies examine students' literacy experiences across institutions as well as both challenges and sources of support in and beyond …

The Lived Experience Of Discovery Of Purpose In Student Affairs Among Emerging Professionals, Nicholas Anthony Clegorne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Clegorne, Nicholas Anthony, B.M. University of Florida, 2002, M.M. University of Florida, 2004 Doctor of Philosophy Major: Educational Leadership and Research The Lived Experience of Discovery of Purpose in Student Affairs among Emerging Professionals Dissertation directed by Associate Professor Roland Mitchell Pages in dissertation, 146. Words in abstract, 297. ABSTRACT Some researchers estimate that as many as three out of five new professionals will leave the field of student affairs within the first five years. Furthermore low job satisfaction has been cited heavily among new professionals in student affairs. The alarming recognition that so many young professionals are unhappy and …

Holy Or Unholy Matrimony: Does Participation In A Pre-College Program Influence The Retention Rate Of African American Males In College, James Dj Baker Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fifty percent of all students who enroll in college depart before earning their degree; this proportion is even higher among minorities during the first year of college (Tinto, 2006). Minorities have typically had fewer opportunities to gain a college education. Once enrolled in college, minorities have generally found it more difficult to succeed academically and graduate (Strayhorn, 2011). There is one group among the collective of minorities that are even further behind the rest, African American males. African American males are one of the most underrepresented populations of students on college campuses around the nation (Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996). …

The College Experiences Of Transgender Students: Creating A Welcoming Environment On Campus, Roxanna Jessica-Dyan Patton

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The number of transgender students on college campuses has been increasing throughout the United States (Schneider,2010). Transgender students face unique concerns in nearly every aspect of campus life. The purpose of this research was to examine the college experiences of transgender students and recommend best practices for making college campuses more welcoming for transgender students. This phenomenological study was conducted using open ended interview questions to collect qualitative data from three transgender students at a large four year public institution in the Midwest. Respondents identified unwelcoming messages in the following areas of campus life: student activities, health services, and through …

Alcohol Violations: An Eight Year Descriptive Study At One West Coast University , Natalie M. Shank

Doctor of Education (EdD)

No abstract provided.