Education Commons^™

"Why Am I In School?": A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Stopping Out Of College., Kathryn Gardner Adamchik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Higher education research often looks at student retention as a dichotomous outcome, either students stay enrolled or not; however, students’ enrollment pathways are more complicated than that as they frequently transfer, swirl between institutions, and stopout and return. This study was designed to explore students who stopout and return to the same institution within their six-year graduation window. More specifically, I sought to learn who stops out, why they stopout, what happens while out, why they come back, and what may be different upon their return. Four conceptual frameworks were applied to understand students’ experiences with stopping out including Tinto’s …

Gearing Up For College, Beatriz Amy Huerta

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Sadly, in the Greenfield community, there are exceedingly high rates of individuals who lack post-secondary education. The Census (2010), states that only 4.8% of persons age 25 years and older in Greenfield, CA obtain a bachelor’s degree. At Greenfield High School over the past five years, an average of 16 students enrolled at a CSU campus (The California State University, 2018). In efforts to promote higher education, Gear Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) empowers students and families of the Monterey County by fostering equitable access to postsecondary education and career readiness through relevant rigorous academic and …

Using Virtual Exchange To Advance Media Literacy Competencies Through Analysis Of Contemporary Propaganda, Renee Hobbs, Christian Seyferth-Zapf, Silke Grafe

Journal of Media Literacy Education

With the rise of so-called fake news as a global phenomenon, interest in propaganda analysis has advanced along with the recognition of the fundamentally social process of interpretation. In this essay, we explore the use of cross-national dialogue among German and American undergraduate students who are seeking to better understand how media messages are interpreted and how they inform and guide the civic actions of citizens. We describe and analyze five lessons that used a virtual exchange using a variety of digital media platforms, texts and technologies to support the cross-national study of contemporary propaganda. We observed that cross-national dialogue …

Motivation To Lead: College Students' Perceptions Of Their Roles As Leaders On Campus, Jacob M. Gross

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Student leadership in college has long been studied from the perspective of the university, and more specifically, how the university supports its student leaders in hopes of enhancing institutional reputation. With this in mind, there is little attention given to the micro-level experience of college student leaders. As such, researchers are called to shift the rhetoric on student leadership away from an institutionally-driven conceptualization to a more student-focused discourse. The central aim of this study was to gather student leader perceptions of their roles as campus leaders and construct meaning behind those perceptions. This qualitative research study examined the phenomenology …

Despite Predictions Of Their Demise, College Textbooks Aren’T Going Away, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

While textbooks have been said to be on their way, they are still a mainstay in higher education.

Mortar Board: A Century Of Scholars, Chosen For Leadership, United To Serve, Susan R. Komives, Virginia N. Gordon, Jane A. Hamblin

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society has a unique place in the history of higher education and indeed in the history of the United States. Founded in 1918, with inaugural chapters at Cornell University, University of Michigan, The Ohio State University, and Swarthmore College, Mortar Board was the first national organization to honor senior college women. Before women had the right to vote in the United States, Mortar Board members were leading their society to prominence across the country. In a real sense, Mortar Board grew up with the US higher education system and grew in step with women’s …

Polycommit: Building Better Habits Through Gamification, Elliot Fiske

Master's Theses

Computer-assisted learning is older than Turing machines, and constantly evolves as technology improves. While some teachers are resistant to using technology in the classroom, “e-learning” techniques are becoming more common in almost every school, from K-12 to universities. As technology becomes more widespread, it becomes crucial to examine the various methodologies of computer-assisted learning and find the techniques that are most effective.

This paper explores the effectiveness of one such methodology, spaced repetition. This technique applies to homework assignments available to students online. We include an exploration of several existing apps that use this technique, and introduce our own novel …

Exploring Parental Involvement In Public Secondary Schools In Imo State, Nigeria: The Role Of Socioeconomic Status, Longinus Nwakire Ugwuegbulem

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Recent academic achievement gaps of public secondary students in Imo State, in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB examinations posed a threat to students’ aspiration to college education. The poor academic achievement level was denting previously achieved high academic record in Imo State. This trend was disturbing to parents and educators. However, this trend could be remedied if appropriate educational policy was enacted and implemented in secondary schools. One educational policy initiative that seemed to have worked in some countries is parents’ participation in their children’s education, otherwise, called “parental involvement.” Studies have shown that parental involvement in the education of their …

College Readiness, Student Expectations And Sucess: The Role Of Non-Cognitive Skills, Malachi Nichols, Julie R. Trivitt, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Attending college is a significant human capital investment but only about 56% of those who start college will have a completed degree 6 years later. This makes identifying which skills are associated with college success an important policy concern. We surveyed over 1,100 entering college freshmen, majoring in business and engineering at a public university in the US, and combined this information with administrative data to create a comprehensive data set that, in addition to the usual academic performance data, cognitive ability measures, and demographics, also included measures of non-cognitive skills, personality traits, and student expectations about college success. With …

An Anti-Deficit Approach To Examining The Career Choice Of African American Men In College, Gary Young

Theses and Dissertations

Awareness of congruence and discrepancies within an individual’s pathway from career interest to occupational choice offers significant insight into the process of conciliation and foreclosure (i.e., psychological disposition toward a circumscription of career options). Given the significant role of careers, understanding the career developmental process is of particular importance. Career interests to occupational choice mediated by self-efficacy are key components in the process of attaining career related goals. Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994) proposed in the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) that under optimal conditions, career interests give rise to congruent occupational choice goals. Altogether, this leads to goal action …

Evaluating An Academic Bridge Program Using A Mixed Methods Approach, Leslie May Yingling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for college degrees has increased, college enrollment has grown significantly, and economic forces have applied greater pressure on the higher education environment to produce more degrees and better post-graduation outcomes. Many public colleges and universities have felt these pressures distinctly because of their state funding environments and the specific expectations that exist within them. While college aspirations and attendance have broadly improved, achievement gaps persist along cultural, generational, and socioeconomic lines. In an effort to navigate and negotiate institutional goals, public expectations, economic needs, and educational ideals, institutions engage in diverse approaches to recruitment and retention. Academic …

Addressing The Lack Of Awareness Regarding The Various Resources To Finance A College Education, Corin Rau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

While there are many different resources to assist students with paying for college, some may not understand the different types that are available for them to utilize, be unaware of the requirements that are necessary to be eligible for certain types of funding, or may accept loans that they do not actually know much about. This possible lack of knowledge may lead to financial stress during and after college. The goal of this project was to have the participants meet three learning outcomes: 1) indicate the types of funding they will use to pay for college in the future,, 2) …

Levels Of Professional Stress In Missouri State University Sport Coaches, James Edgar Seratt

MSU Graduate Theses

Due to the particular nature of collegiate sport coaching, that is, the need to secure victories at all costs in order to ensure job security, collegiate sport coaches are a population that are likely to experience high levels of personal and professional stress. Previous research has indicated that coaches at all levels of competition, experience degrees and levels of stress similar to those experienced by individuals in other high stress professions, including police officers, medical professionals, and teachers. Furthermore, research has indicated that high levels of stress are positively correlated with decreased work performance. For this research, 45 Missouri State …

A Case Study Of The Umpqua Community College Shooting, Timothy P. Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the deadliest shooting that has happened on a community college campus. The following research questions guided this dissertation study: (1) What was the law enforcement response to the deadliest community college campus shooting in history? (2) Did previous mass shootings inform the law enforcement response to the deadliest community college campus shooting? (3) What implications for practice can be derived by studying the deadliest of these shootings? This case study utilized multiple sources of information, from official police reports, official institutional reports, archives of publications, and participant interviews from some of the …

How College Campuses Are Using Social Media During Severe Weather Events, Emmale Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how college campuses are using social media during severe weather events. This topic surfaced after a tornado devastated Moore, Oklahoma in May 2013 and those displaced flocked to the University of Oklahoma campus after a post made on Twitter went viral prior to an official message being sent out by the university. In order to further explore this topic, a qualitative phenomenological case study was conducted at the following sites: University of Alabama, Missouri Southern State University, University of Oklahoma, and Florida State University. This study included observations of social media posts on Facebook and Twitter on …

Black Male Persistence In Spite Of Facing Stereotypes In College: A Phenomenological Exploration, Taylor Benjamin Hardy Boyd M.Ed., Donald Mitchell Jr., Ph.D.

Executives, Administrators, & Staff Publications

Stereotypes often create threatening environments for Black males on college campuses. This study sought to break the deficit narrative surrounding Black males in college by highlighting how they persisted despite facing stereotypes. Six participants were included in this study. Through interviews and naturalistic observations, we explored how participants articulated their experiences with stereotypes, how they dealt with those experiences, how the experiences shaped future endeavors, and how they used strategies to dispel stereotypes and persist through threatening experiences. Findings suggest (a) the participants dealt with internalized feelings due to stereotypes; (b) stereotypes were reinforced in various ways; and, (c) they …

Black Male Persistence In Spite Of Facing Stereotypes In College: A Phenomenological Exploration, Taylor Benjamin Hardy Boyd, Donald Mitchell Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Stereotypes often create threatening environments for Black males on college campuses. This study sought to break the deficit narrative surrounding Black males in college by highlighting how they persisted despite facing stereotypes. Six participants were included in this study. Through interviews and naturalistic observations, we explored how participants articulated their experiences with stereotypes, how they dealt with those experiences, how the experiences shaped future endeavors, and how they used strategies to dispel stereotypes and persist through threatening experiences. Findings suggest (a) the participants dealt with internalized feelings due to stereotypes; (b) stereotypes were reinforced in various ways; and, (c) they …

Advanced Placement And Dual Enrollment As Related To College Readiness And Retention At A Tennessee University, Diana Bowers, Virginia P. Foley

ETSU Faculty Works

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between students who entered a Tennessee university for the first time in the fall of 2014 who had earned either Advanced Placement (AP) or dual enrollment credit and their college readiness and 1-year college retention. College readiness was defined by students’ American College Testing (ACT) sub scores in English, reading, and mathematics. The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) regulates the minimum sub score for each sub section that a student must obtain to be college ready. College retention was defined by students who enrolled at the …

Relationship Between Authentic Happiness And Servant Leadership In A Midwestern State, Michelle Lynn Clemons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational research study was to investigate the relationship between authentic happiness and servant leadership among college professors. The study sought to close a gap in the research by examining the connection between authentic happiness as a positive psychological construct and servant leadership orientation by teachers in the classroom. Participants in the study included 71 faculty in a Midwestern state. Participants completed the Authentic Happiness Inventory, the Servant Leadership Profile-Revised, and demographic information on SurveyMonkey®. The results were analyzed using SPSS and a Spearman’s rho was calculated to determine the relationship between servant leadership and authentic happiness …

A Grounded Theory Study: Transition Experiences Of First Year College Students With Pessimistic Explanatory Styles, Hannah Piechowski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Depression has increased as a presenting concern among college students seeking counseling services, reaching 41.23% in 2016 (Reetz, Bershad, LeViness, & Whitlock, 2016). A Pessimistic Explanatory Style has been found to be related to depression, poor academic success, and GPA (Chang & Sanna, 2007; Dweck, 2008; Ramirez, Maldonado, & Martos, 1992; Seligman, 2011; Stipek, 1988). Further, undergraduate enrollment has decreased nationally by six percent between 2010 and 2015 (NCES, 2018). These factors support the need to explore overlooked aspects that can support a student’s transition into college (Hutson & He, 2011). This grounded theory study explored the transition experiences of …

Newsroom: Rwu Remembers Former President Natale A. Sicuro 1-8-2018, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Beliefs About Self-Control And Regulation: Do They Matter For College Performance?, Cara E. Worick

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Students who are good self-regulators have higher motivation and achievement than those who are not. The beliefs students hold influence the goals they set, how they regulate learning, their motivation, and their subsequent actions. Beliefs about one’s own willpower (the capacity to exert self-control in everyday life) have been shown to affect individuals’ self-regulation. Willpower has been conceptualized as a limited resource that is easily depleted in demanding situations. However, some researchers have shown that individuals’ beliefs about willpower capacity (i.e., as finite or abundant), and not their actual willful acts, are more predictive of self-regulated behavior. Researchers have similarly …

Activism And Identity: How Asian American College Students Define Contemporary Activism For Social Justice, Lester Manzano

Dissertations

Since the height of student activism in the 1960s, little research has explored how college students conceptualize and define activism for social justice. In addition, the extant literature on student activism has been limited in its treatment of marginalized communities, including Asian American students. Given an increase in students’ self-reporting that they expect to engage in student activism while in college (Eagan et al., 2016), students’ engagement in conventional forms of activism may be on the rise, but how contemporary activism is defined needs to be examined from the perspective of student activists themselves. Thus, contemporary notions of student activism …

Pacific Review Winter 2018, Alumni Association Of The University Of The Pacific

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

Students Transitioning To College And Out Of Competitive Sport: Athletic Identity, Coping, And Stress, Alex Michael Russell, Michael Cottingham, Adam Barry, Don Lee, David Walsh

Journal of Applied Sport Management

High-school athletes who transition into higher education as non-athlete students encounter several social and emotional difficulties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of aforementioned participants’ athletic identities on their utilization of coping strategies and resulting perceptions of stress. A structural model was developed and empirically tested using a 48-item questionnaire. The sample population consisted of undergraduate students enrolled in freshman-level courses at three public southwestern universities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated a strong model fit, including a significant correlation between various factors of athletic identity and coping, as well as a significant correlation between coping and …

Aurora Volume 105, Katie Obi Obasi (Editor)

Aurora-yearbook

College formerly located at Olivet, Illinois and known as Olivet University (1912-1923) Olivet College (1923-1939), Olivet Nazarene College (1940-1986), and Olivet Nazarene University (1986-Present).

Exploring Residence Life Needs Of College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Their Transition To College, Jaclyn Clark

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to explore the housing and residential supports of first-year college students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Specifically, this study utilized a Delphi Survey method to reveal the necessary resident life needs, potential barriers, and effective supports for first-time college students with ASD. Professionals from the field of autism, housing and resident life departments, and individuals diagnosed with autism served as the panel of experts (n=14). Participants identified that effective supports should include the following areas: campus-based professional expertise, communication supports, day-to-day activity supports, organizational and executive function supports, and social interaction supports. The …

Q & A With Donna Freitas, Author Of Sex And The Soul, Donna Freitas, Lisa Day

The Chautauqua Journal

As part of your methodology for your research and your writing of Sex and the Soul, how did you choose the participating universities? Did you consider any Bible Belt schools? Do you think Southern schools might align more closely with purity culture at religious schools? Have you visited any schools that presented different results from the predominant paradigm?

For this study, I chose the participating colleges and universities based on a number of factors: religious affiliation or non religious affiliation (Catholic, evangelical, private-secular and public), size, geographic location and whether the school was primarily a campus where students lived …

Racial Identity And Resilience In Black Male College Graduates, Anancia Stafford

All Capstone Projects

The aim of this study was to see if there was a relationship between Black male college graduates and non-graduates’ racial identity. This study also sought to see if there was a relationship between Black male college graduates and Black male non-graduates’ resilience. Black people were not always afforded the opportunity to attend higher education, but the civil rights movement assisted with the abolishment of unfair laws that supported exclusion and segregation in the educational system. Since then, college enrollment has increased for Black people in America in both PWIS and HBCUs, but there exists a large gap in college …

College Students And The Rhetorical Dissent Goal: Associations Between Dissent Goal, Dissent Target, And Perceptions Of Instructor Power, Martin Glenn Heator

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Some college students who experience discontent with the instructional experience engage in a complaining and problem-solving behavior called instructional dissent. Three types of dissent have been identified: rhetorical, expressive, and vengeful. Student perceptions of instructor power influence if and how students dissent. This study explored the relationship between instructor power and rhetorical dissent. Previous studies measured rhetorical dissent as a single variable incorporating the goal for dissenting and the target for dissent expression, using the instructor in the class as the only target. This study measured dissent goal and dissent target as separate variables and included the instructor in the …