Education Commons^™

English Language Learners And Their Access To Postsecondary Education: Examining Their Achievements And College Readiness Through Educators’ Experiences And Perspectives, Anna Kalinowska

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to bring awareness to the issue of English learners (ELs) being unprepared for college and to study the beliefs and perceptions of educators regarding the factors that contribute to the creation of an achievement gap between EL students and traditional students. The study involved an analysis of trends in the perceptions of school counselors, teachers, and administrators regarding EL students being ready to attend college. Data were collected from nine participants from three public high schools in Pinellas County using Zoom and email interviews and then analyzed. Four main themes emerged from the …

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

A Delphi Study Of Possible, Probable, And Desirable Futures At 4-Year U.S. Higher Education Institutions By 2035, Mary Cutia-Pluff

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe educational changes at 4-year higher education institutions that are possible and probable by 2035 as perceived by a panel of experts. Additionally, the purpose was to determine the level of desirability of educational changes identified as probable by a panel of experts. Finally, the purpose was to describe actions necessary to promote the desirable educational changes by 2035 as perceived by the panel of experts.

Methodology: The Delphi method was used to survey 17 higher education experts from diverse disciplines. Four survey rounds gathered qualitative and quantitative data regarding …

The Infinite Mindset: A Phenomenological Study Of Exemplary Student Affairs Leaders, Kevin Giang

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe how exemplary leaders in the field of student affairs perceive the practices of Simon Sinek’s Infinite Mindset Framework are embedded within their organizations to inspire the achievement of extraordinary results. A further purpose of this study was to understand the organizational supports and barriers these exemplary leaders perceive affect the development of an infinite mindset.

Methodology: Interviews were used to explore and describe how exemplary student affairs leaders perceive the five practices of Sinek’s Infinite Mindset are embedded within their organizations. The study seeks to explore and make …

Understanding The Experience Of Mid-Level Community College Change Leaders, Kelley L. Conrad

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the phenomenon of leading major change as a midlevel administrator or faculty member at a Michigan community college. Specifically, this study explores how three leaders experienced their roles in implementing the guided pathways strategic change initiative, how they describe the emotional aspects of leading change, and how they made sense of their experiences. One overarching research question guided this study: How do guided pathways leaders at Michigan community colleges experience their roles in the strategic change process?

The results of multiple, in-depth interviews are presented as three profiles, one per participant, using their own words to …

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

College Choice Decisions: An Analysis Of University Honors Students, Thomas Tyler Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to analyze the importance of various institutional attributes in the college-choice process of honors students. The study surveyed honors students (N = 279) currently enrolled in an honors college at one university. Students rated 51 items on the degree of importance in their college decision. An exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the underlying factors in the college-choice process.

The results indicated that cost was the most important issue students considered when determining an institution to attend. Cost of attendance and financial assistance offered were followed by quality of course instruction, safety on …

The History Of The Doctoral Program In Organizational Leadership At Brandman University From An Innovation Theory Perspective: Alpha Cohort 2012, Jennifer Dinielli

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this historical research study was to document the development of the Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership at Brandman University from concept and design to implementation with the Alpha cohort of 2012. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to chronicle the decisions that guided program development and the factors that influenced key leaders and decisions from an innovation perspective of Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model of structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Methodology: In this historical study, artifact and relic review and interviews were utilized to secure data from key leaders involved in …

The Impact Of Goal Orientation And Learning Organization On Mobbing Of Academic Advisors In The U.S., Bette A. Ludwig

Dissertations

Mobbing emerged in research decades ago as a way to understand aggressive behavior in the animal kingdom (Lorenz, 1966). This same concept has been adapted for higher education to explain acts of incivility and negative behaviors employees experience within their institutions (Duffy & Sperry, 2007, 2012; Harper, 2016; Yelgecen & Kokalan, 2009). The theory of mobbing encompasses both the organization and the aggressor.

This quantitative study, operationalized using measurable behaviors from the Work Domain Goal Orientation Questionnaire (Vandewalle, 1997), the Dimension of Learning Organization Questionnaire (Watkins and Marsick, 1993), and the Negative Acts Questionnaire (Einarsen, 1997), researches mastery orientation, performance …

Artist As Academic Leader, George H. Brown

Dissertations

The American College President Study (ACE, 2017) revealed that 78% of university presidents are planning to retire within the next nine years. With the increasing complexity of higher education, the demand for innovative leadership will grow as a result of the departure of these leaders. This demand will create opportunities for artist practitioners interested in higher education leadership. However, if artist practitioners doubt an administrative role will give voice to their imagination, will they accept the challenge and opportunity of leadership?

Currently, only 0.33% of university presidents serving four-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in the U.S. come from the …

How Navy And Marine Corps Veterans Make Meaning Of The College Choice Process In The Post-9/11 Gi Bill Era, Derek Abbey

Dissertations

The Post-9/11 GI Bill was implemented in 2009. Since then more than 1,900,000 people have used the benefit and more than $90 billion have been paid to institutions of higher learning and to Post-9/11 GI Bill users. During this period there has been a shift in the types of college and universities veterans attend, as well as the educational models they select. These shifts are different than the general population of students. This period also included a spike in questionable recruiting practices by some colleges. In response to many institutions taking advantage of veterans, the President of the United States …

Design Parameters For Planning Cluster Randomized Trials Of Cognitive Skill Interventions: An Empirical Analysis Using The Collegiate Learning Assessment, Yu Du

Dissertations

Recently, higher education has started to place a premium on rigorous research that uses randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to test the impact of educational interventions. This may be due in part to concerns about a deficiency of high-quality evidence of the effectiveness of programs, policies, and practices to improve undergraduate students’ outcomes. Given the naturally nested structure in higher education, e.g., students nested in colleges/universities, researchers in higher education start considering a specific type of RCT called a cluster randomized trial (CRT), which have been frequently used in K-12 impact research. In a CRT, whole clusters, such as colleges/universities, are …

A Whole New World: Students With Disabilities Transition To Postsecondary Education, Warren Whitaker

Dissertations

Since the inception of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, there has been a steady increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities in higher education. With the postsecondary transition in educational supports from the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) in high school to ADA in college, there has been a lack of research related to the experiences of these students with disabilities while they are in college. Considering the changes in disability experience resulting from education policy changes from high school (IDEA) to college (ADA/Section 504), the purpose of this study was to examine the …

In Pursuit Of Transformative Learning: Exploring The Stimulation Of Curiosity Through Critical Reflection In The College Classroom, Bo Y. Bae

Dissertations

Educators in higher education are faced with growing pressures to shift pedagogical practices in order to accommodate the growing population of learners and improve student learning outcomes. While the acquisition of knowledge and skills are important to the learning process, they are insufficient in preparing students to function in rapidly changing environments. Curiosity is a vital component in the learning process that, when stimulated, has the potential to increase students’ capacity to think critically. Implementing teaching practices that intentionally focus on how curiosity can be stimulated and enhanced develops students’ abilities to access higher levels of thinking that are essential …

Enterprise Risk Management (Erm) At U.S. Colleges And Universities: Administration Processes Regarding The Adoption, Implementation, And Integration Of Erm, Anne E. Lundquist

Dissertations

The variety, type and volume of risks affecting higher education are numerous and the consequences for unmanaged risks and missed opportunities are more significant than ever before. In response, many institutions of higher education are adopting an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach. External factors, as well as institutional culture, play a role in the decision to adopt ERM, as well as the path of implementation. Because higher education has unique characteristics that differentiate it from other organizations, particularly a shared governance structure, the adoption and implementation decisions, and resulting ERM frameworks, have aspects that make them unique to the higher …

An Examination Of How Feminist Perspectives And Generational Differences Lnfluence The Leadership Practices Of Women Administrators In Higher Education, Marlene Kowalski-Braun

Dissertations

This study explored how feminist perspectives and generational differences influence the leadership practice of women administrators in higher education, specifically, how they lead and create institutional change. It examined the experiences of seven women who identified as feminists, who were part of Generation X, and who were at the mid-level, aspiring to senior-level, or in senior-level positions.

Phenomenology was the qualitative methodology used in this study to uncover how these women made meaning of their feminist and generational identities. The approach was grounded in feminist methodology and utilized feminist standpoint theory to legitimize women as “knowers.” It drew on a …

A Phenomenological Study Into How Students Experience And Understand The University Presidency, Kahler B. Schuemann

Dissertations

Little is known about how college students experience and understand the university presidency. Students are important consumers of the academic experience and by affiliation are constituents of organizational leadership. The social distance between students and university presidents continues to narrow. To address the void in scholarly literature, my study explored how students experience and understand the university presidency.

My investigation utilized phenomenological methodology to form descriptive themes. I interviewed 10 college students who self-identified as being involved with extracurricular activities and having, at minimum, occasional interaction with their president. Participants were selected from two small, public, Midwestern universities where their …