Adult and Continuing Education Administration Commons^™

Ua35/6 Provost's Office Continuing Education, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Continuing Education.

Papers Of Frank Bateman Stanger Presidential Papers Arc 210-004 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Improving The General Education Development (Ged): Retention And Completion Rates Of Low Income Adults, Kimberly Mashaun Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining adult education students has been a growing concern. The new GED requirements have generated low completion rates for a free GED program in a 3-year period, in a non-profit agency in a Southeastern state. Instructors are concerned about this problem and need to understand the factors that are inhibiting adult learners from successfully attaining their GED. This qualitative research design was the most appropriate to answer the research questions to determine the experiences that caused the adult learners to not complete the program and identify potential educational strategies needed to improve retention. Sticht's functional context theory was the conceptual …

Mentor Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Mentoring Strategies, Paula Tomlinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators at a public high school in Southeastern United States depend on mentor teachers to minimize the attrition rate among beginning teachers, yet the strategies implemented by mentors lack definition and clarity. The purpose of this study was to explore mentor teachers' perceptions of effective mentoring strategies and their needs when mentoring new teachers. Maslow's humanistic learning theory guided this bounded basic qualitative study. The research questions focused on the mentoring strategies mentor teachers perceived as effective and the needs of the mentors. Ten high school mentor teachers, who currently mentor new teachers, were purposefully selected to participate in individual …

Factors Contributing To Military-Veteran Student Success, Charlene Sutton Cofield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of military/veteran students at U.S. colleges and universities is growing steadily; however, factors affecting their academic success need further investigation. Guided by Tinto's student integration model and Bean and Metzner's model of nontraditional student attrition, the relationships between student characteristics and academic success for military/veteran, and civilian students were investigated. For this nonexperimental study, preentry characteristics (military/civilian status, race/ethnicity, age, gender, transfer credits) as well as 1st-year academic performance (total terms attended and grade point average [GPA]) archived in 393 students' records were examined to determine whether these variables predicted 4 student success measures: retention after 1 year, …

Qsen Competency Confidence Levels In Two Groups Of New Registered Nurses, Yvonne A. Davila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare agencies and stakeholders expect registered nurses to be competent at all times. When nurses are not confident in competencies, negative patient outcomes can occur. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental with posttest only study was to investigate Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency confidence levels of 2 groups of new nurses who had 5-6 months of clinical experience. Framed by the Duchscher theory and the QSEN framework, the research question was developed to examine the differences between QSEN competency confidence levels of new nurses who participated in a prelicensure program plus a residency program and nurses who …

Ua37/35/1 Faculty Personal Papers O.J. Wilson Cultural Enrichment Through Community Action, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Grant project files for O.J. Wilson's Cultural Enrichment through Community Action. Includes project files, correspondence and reports.

The Cultural Enrichment through Community Action project was sponsored jointly from 1966 to 1970 "as a technique to eliminate a cultural blight or void in the areas of art, music and theatre in the service area of Western Kentucky University." [Final Report, p. 1]

Ua42/3/1 Delo Extended Campuses Wku Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the extended campus of WKU Elizabethtown / Ft. Knox.

Compass Placement Assessment And Student Attrition At A Community College, Leslie Morris Samuel Griffiths Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Considerable research has been conducted regarding the usefulness of placement testing in community colleges. Many stuides show that using the COMPASS exam may lead to students' unsuccessful course completion. To better identify the factors that may result in reduced attrition, the relationship between attrition and placement testing was studied. Using Tinto's student retention model and employing qualitative methodology, this study explored the perceptions of students and faculty regarding whether COMPASS placement assessment predicted future student success in first year courses at a community college that reports higher rates of attrition when compared to other area community colleges. After completing interviews …

Admission Members' Perceptions Of Predictive Validity Of The Graduate Record Examinations, Janet Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparate student academic outcomes and program access is a problem at Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs in the Northeast United States The current admission committee members at the case university did not know institution leaders' rationale for eliminating the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) criterion. The decision to exclude the GRE as an MPA admission requirement was enacted prior to their respective tenures. The program leadership expressed interest in exploring research-based admission criteria to enhance student access and predictive outcomes. Supported by critical pedagogy and humanist theories, the purpose of this case study was to investigate admission committee members' viewpoints …

Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development Around Assessment, Mary Sue Durr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The significance of professional development (PD) is acknowledged in research studies as essential to implementing rigorous state standards. Although the literature recognizes that PD is a crucial component in improving teachers' knowledge and skills, some teachers at a midsized urban public elementary school in the southern United States did not see the benefit of attending PD. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary special education teachers' perceptions of PD around assessment. Guided by a framework based on Chen and McCray's whole teacher approach to teacher PD, this basic qualitative study was designed to understand how these elementary special …

Early Childhood Education Trainers' Knowledge And Use Of Andragogical Principles, Kimberly Thornton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers often lack the experience and skills to provide children with supports necessary to foster academic and social skill development. Professional development can improve ECE teachers' skills, but ECE trainers often lack understanding of adult learning principles, known as andragogy. Knowles' conceptual framework of andragogy was used to explore the knowledge and use of andragogical principles of 8 ECE trainers selected via criterion-based purposive sampling. The research questions focused on ECE trainers' knowledge and use of andragogical principles. Three cases, each consisting of 2 or 3 live professional development trainings for early childhood educators, were used …

From Collaborative To Collegial Communities: Transitioning From Student Affairs Practitioner To Faculty, Michelle Lea Boettcher, Dena Kniess, Mimi Benjamin

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

While student affairs (SA) practitioner expertise can inform a faculty member’s knowledge in the classroom, the transition into a tenure-track faculty role from student affairs administrative roles is complex. One of the differences new faculty members with SA administrator backgrounds experience is a change in the work community and shift from collaborative to collegial cultures. While studies have examined the transition of student affairs professionals from graduate programs to full time student affairs practitioner roles and graduate students into the professoriate, there is limited scholarship on the transitional experiences of student affairs practitioners moving into faculty positions. This qualitative study …

Wounded Warriors And Their Transition To The Community College Classroom, Virgil Nathaniel Adkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many postsecondary institutions face challenges when veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) enroll in college and become student-veterans. Staff and faculty may need to better understand how to accommodate these student-veterans as they transition from military to student life. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of 3 groups at a Texas community college regarding classroom accommodations for student-veterans with PTSD or TBI: (a) student-veterans with PTSD or TBI, (b) the faculty, and (c) the disability counselors. Schlossberg's theory assessing an individual's assets and abilities in transition was the conceptual framework for …

Promoting Nurses Management Of Night Shift Sleepiness, Sunday Iken Okundolor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses are largely unaware of the problems of night-shift-nurse sleepiness and available strategies to manage night-shift sleepiness. The purpose of this project was to examine nurses' self-perception, awareness of sleepiness, and current strategies to manage this problem in the emergency medicine department of a major academic hospital in the western United States. The validated de-identified Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was used to measure the prevalence and intensity of night shift nurses' sleepiness prior to the development of an educational program on strategies to manage sleepiness. Of the 164 registered nurses surveyed, 72 (43.9%) reported sleepiness greater than 7 on the …

African American Christian Senior Pastor's Beliefs About Mental Health Treatment, Trinaa L. Copeland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the African American community, the Black Church and its clergy have served as gatekeepers to formal mental health treatment. Little is known about the beliefs of African American Christian senior pastors about mental health treatment and their personal views influencing their counsel to congregants seeking support through the church. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of African American Christian senior pastors in relation to how they understand mental health treatment and provide it to their congregants. The research questions explored three areas: (a) the senior pastors' experiences in rendering mental health treatment, (b) the senior pastors' personal …

Wright's Competency Model And Quality And Safety Competencies, Staci Shanks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Competent nurses are instrumental in assuring that a patient receives safe patient care of the highest quality. Patient care that lacks quality places patients at risk of poor health outcomes and results in negative financial impacts for the organization. The purpose of this staff education project was to develop nurse competency education for a facility's competency program, which merged the Wright competency model with quality and safety education for nurses' competencies. The nurse competency staff education program was evaluated by the organization's stakeholders for inclusion in the competency program. The whole-part-whole model, Knowles's adult learning theory, and Lewin's change theory …

Exploring Perceptions Of The Transition From Health Science Practitioner To Academic, Maryanne J. Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transitioning from a clinical practitioner to an educator in the health sciences is a difficult task for many professionals. Although, clinically, these individuals have achieved a level of expertise, they are not necessarily trained to teach in a classroom setting and may find it difficult to transition into their role as novice. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine faculty members' preparedness during their transition to academia and their perceptions of the need for more support during the first 5 years of teaching. Vygotsky's and Dewey's theories of social constructivism and Knowles's assumptions of adult learning provided …

Examining The Training Transfer Practice Of A Financial Institution: An Action Research Study, Maria Lourdes Lourdes Gutierrez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many organizations rely on training to improve the skills and knowledge of its human resources. The underlying assumption is that employees will use what they learned when they return to the workplace. Although there is evidence that learning occurred it does not always result in transfer (Mosel, 1957). Transfer is an issue of concern for training practitioners. If despite the significant investment no return is realized, then the training is not effective and the investment is wasted. This action research study was conducted in a financial institution in the Southwestern United States. The purpose of this study was to (1) …

Nontraditional Students Success In Compressed Courses Within A Community College Cohort, Elizabeth Kinter Tanner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nontraditional students are an untapped population for American higher education institutions. Private baccalaureate-granting universities have taken the lead on creating programs for this population’s needs. These programs typically include combinations of online instruction, cohorts, compressed or accelerated courses, and prior learning assessment. Similarly constructed programs for nontraditional students at public community colleges are less common. A review of the Council for Accelerated Programs’ website reveals only twelve of the 98-member institutions are community or technical colleges, and only one is in California (Council for Accelerated Programs, n.d.). In 2016, Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District in California created the Accelerated College …

Adjunct Faculty: The Silent Majority, Erin M. Hillstead Walton

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The increase in use of part-time faculty, commonly referred to as “adjunct,” has shifted the academic workforce. Utilization of this populace has increased steadily over the past several years and is anticipated to continue this growth as colleges and universities seek cost-cutting measures in balancing their annual budgets. With this increase, however, comes unexpected consequences for the educators who fill these roles; often they are underpaid, overworked, and employed tenuously from term-to-term with no security in employment. This dissertation examines the adjunct faculty role; including what adjunct faculty need to be successful, versus what they have been provided to succeed …

Praxis Core: A Systemic Approach To Helping Minority Students, Terrance M. Mcadoo, Danielle A. Harrison

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this article was to provide potential solutions for teacher education programs with regard to assisting minority students with Praxis Core, a standardized test that’s mandatory for many teacher preparation students throughout the United States. The article not only examined solutions for minority students, especially African American students, but also it highlights the disparities between Caucasian and African American test takers in regard to Praxis Core. A major portion of the article discussed a three point systems that has proven to be effective in helping minority students to successfully pass Praxis Core, and the article explains the structures …

Exploring The Opportunities Of Minority Senior Executive U.S. Federal Government Agency Leaders: A Qualitative Analysis, Crystal Gathers-Whatley, Tyrone Chase

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the opportunities and challenges minority senior executive U.S. federal government agency leaders (MSELs) faced on their path to leadership, and their strategies to manage and overcome these challenges. The phrase minority senior executive leaders refer to individuals who lead U.S. executive departments; individual federal agencies, departments, or commissions; and those that report under the direct leadership of majority or minority leaders. This study explored how MSELs gained entry into leadership positions typically held by majority leaders; how MSELs take advantage of the opportunities presented to them; and what had the most …

Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation, And Feedback In The Context Of Cross-Cultural Language Acquisition In Higher Education: A Conceptual Approach, Papia Bawa

Journal of Research Initiatives

Given the exponential growth in international student populations in the United States, supporting cross cultural language learners (CCLL) in developing their self and co-regulated learning is highly important. This paper presents a conceptual framework on the value of feedback within self-regulated versus co-regulated environments, in the context of cross- cultural language learning. We use the term cross cultural language learners (CCLL) to refer to international learners, in particular from Asia. When exploring the issues of cross cultural language acquisition relating to logographic (Chinese) and alphabetic (English) languages, we examine the literature that support self and co-regulated learning within the frame …

Technology Competency Within The Non-Traditional Preservice Teacher Candidate Population: Survey Results, Marilyn Lanier, Cynthia B. Wooten, Noran L. Moffett, Tanya M. Hudson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study utilized action research with quantitative data analysis to investigate the personal technological skills and use of web-based applications of nontraditional teacher candidates enrolled in elementary education courses at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in the southeastern section of the USA. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the technological challenges encountered by non-traditional candidates and to determine how technology can inform instructional delivery of curriculum to improve this population’s representation, expression, and engagement of learning outcomes. Data were collected through an anonymous electronic survey distributed to each student enrolled in the elementary education courses. A total …

Black Exceptionality In Academia: A Cultural-Historical Re-Conceptualization Of Black Male Students Identified With Learning Disabilities In Higher Education, Larry Love, Dosun Ko, Aydin Bal

Journal of Research Initiatives

The under-representation of Black male students identified with learning disabilities (LD) in higher education is a symptom of a larger social injustice, the racialization of educational opportunities and outcomes in the United States. We provided a critical review of literature to examine the structural and social barriers facing Black college students identified with LD in terms of access to adequate support services, refusal of funds of knowledge that Black students bring to higher education, and hegemonic organization of higher education. Following themes are explored: a) historical legacy of racial inequity in academia; b) systemic contradictions in institutional practices; c) absence …

Resilient Scholar: A High Achieving African American Male With A Learning Disability, Shawn A. Robinson

Journal of Research Initiatives

The existing literature on race/ethnicity overlooks learning disability (LD) and the latter often neglects African American males. Further, when the intersection of race/ethnicity and LD overlap, African American males are rarely discussed or viewed as high achievers within the literature. Therefore, I seek to break through the wall of silence and provide an account that explores the rich lived experiences of a high achieving African American male with LD (i.e., dyslexia) in higher education. The article begins with literature relevant to my lived experiences followed by contextualizing those experiences as a high achiever. Next, I use a conceptual framework as …

Do I Enact What I Learn?: Examining Novice Science Teachers Approximations Of Practice, Helene Pollins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine novice secondary science teachers’ enactment of their teaching philosophies in their lesson planning and teaching. The framework was based on three theories: approximations of practice, teachers’ knowledge of content and students (KCS), and experiential learning. The design for this research used a qualitative case study design. The participants were three novice science teachers in a large school district in the Southwestern United States. Data sources included teaching philosophies, three semi-structured interviews, lesson plans, and observations. Three research questions were: what are novice science teachers’ major philosophies at the entry level of teaching; …

Optimizing Student Retention: Measurement And Analysis Of Strategies Implemented Within Traditional Bachelor’S In Nursing Programs, Bethanie K. Gamble Dr.

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of strategies that optimize nursing student retention. While college students experience a degree of personal and social challenges toward degree completion, nursing students experience higher incidences of attrition due to the academic rigors, clinical scheduling, and high stresses of nursing programs. While few institutional contributions can address personal and social issues impacting retention, nursing programs have a unique opportunity to develop interventions to strengthen social connections to the academic institution and facilitate early connections to the profession. These professional integration factors are central domains of the Jeffreys’ Nursing Universal Retention and Success (NURS) model and …

Chicago Public Schools (Cps) Systems To Support Administrators Plan, Jeffrey Alstadt

Dissertations

Wagner et al.’s (2010) change leadership model was used to assess culture, context, conditions, and competencies of a large, diverse urban school district to create a systemic plan for supporting building level administrators. Interviews were conducted with former building level administrators, teachers, and staff who worked with building level administrators within the district. Results indicated overwhelming support for the building level administrators in the district. Strategies for implementation included: creating professional learning communities, leading adult learning, and developing leadership capacity. To achieve the much-needed changes, CPS personnel must be ready for a complete change in thinking, and it will take …