Community College Education Administration Commons^™

Silent Detonations: Redirecting Focus, Preserving Identity, And Leading Under The Weight Of Microaggressions, Ray Lavan

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

African American educational leaders consistently navigate racial microaggressions that challenge their focus, identity, and well-being. This study explores how these leaders deploy attention to manage the emotional weight of microaggressions in K-12 public school settings. Using Gross’s emotion regulation theory and Sue’s taxonomy of racial microaggressions, this qualitative phenomenological study examines how attentional deployment serves as both a shield and constraint. Data from the African American leaders reveal that silence, background processing, selective focus, and redirection to professional goals are common strategies to sustain composure. These strategies protect leaders in the moment but create emotional strain, identity conflict, and cumulative …

Breaking Barriers: Mentorship Pathways For Hispanic Women In Leadership Roles, Ana Paola Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to understand the unique lived experiences of 10 Hispanic Latinas serving in leadership roles in 2-year community colleges in Texas. As the graduation rate of Hispanic women increases, institutions must identify mentorship programs that motivate women who continue to graduate to seek leadership positions within their institutions. Through life stories and lived experiences, the study's findings illustrate that mentorship is essential to creating, but that self-determination and self-advocacy also make it possible to find paths to leadership. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged from the data: identity and representation, mentorship and support structures, and resilience and advocacy. …

Latina Senior-Level Leaders In 2-Year Public Higher Education Institutions In Texas: A Life Story Narrative Study, Monica Yvette Escobar-Leblanc

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study was designed to understand the personal and academic experiences of Latinas in senior-level leadership positions in 2-year public higher education institutions in Texas and the impact, if any, of these experiences on their leadership development. Although Latina undergraduate college enrollment has continued to increase, Latinas remain significantly underrepresented in senior-level leadership roles in higher education institutions. Using a life story narrative approach and LatCrit as the theoretical lens, this study examined leadership development across the life span from adolescence to middle adulthood. The thematic analysis of the four Latinas' life story narratives, employed in 2-year public higher education …

Online Learning And Private Christian Hispanic Serving Institutions: A Narrative Review Of The Literature, Daniela A. Hernandez, Brandi R. Munoz, Stephanie Ferrell

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

This narrative literature review explores the intersection of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), online education, and the role of private Christian universities in addressing educational disparities for Hispanic students. It synthesizes existing research on the challenges Hispanic students face in higher education, including financial barriers, limited digital access, underutilization of student support services, and institutional identity issues. Drawing on social capital theory and student engagement theory, this review highlights how HSIs, particularly private Christian institutions, can develop culturally responsive initiatives and leverage federal Title V funding to support Hispanic learners. The paper also examines emerging efforts such as the “Seal of …

A Higher Calling: How Christian Student Affairs Administrators Integrate Their Faith While Working At Public Community Colleges, Danielle J. Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The cornerstone of the student affairs field was the intentional focus on holistic student development, their mind and spirit. The problem addressed was that many student affairs professionals felt ill-equipped and uncomfortable discussing and expressing their personal faith at some institutions of higher education. As a result, some were hesitant about integrating faith at work, personally and professionally. The study sought to identify faith's role in Christian student affairs administrators who worked at public open-admission community colleges and the administrators’ perceptions of how their personal faith integration at work impacted their relationships with students and colleagues. The paradigm for …

Principals' Perspectives Of The Impact Of Faculty Engagement, Self-Efficacy, And Resiliency On First-Year African American College Student Retention, Hattie Marie Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study examined principals’ perceptions of the impact of faculty engagement, student resiliency, and student self-efficacy on the retention of first-year urban and rural African American college students. The aim of the study was to determine why students from this demographic leave their higher education institutions after the first year. In the United States, about 30% of students, regardless of race or ethnicity, drop out of college after the first year. Further, given 6 years, about 50% of students drop out before obtaining a degree. Researchers have identified African American students as having a high college dropout rate. This …

On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique set of impairments and limitations presented by students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make the accessing of campus-based nonacademic resources more difficult and complicated than their typically developed peers. Each year, the rate of students entering college with disabilities continues to grow, but their mental well-being is relatively poor. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply the conceptual framework of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use (ABMHSU) to the experiences of college students with ASD to understand and predict their utilization of campus-provided mental health resources. The participants were seven college students with …

Impostor Phenomenon, College-Going Knowledge, And Staff Expectations: Ramifications On First Time In College Students Enrollment, Julia A. Vickery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A lack of technically trained, skilled, and educated workforce has become a critical issue in Texas. Furthermore, an educated workforce improves communities and individuals with economic, health, and personal benefits. Community colleges not only provide open-access admissions and low-cost tuition but are specifically aligned with educating the technical and industrial skilled workforce. Although a post-high school education has never been more accessible or necessary for obtaining high-earning jobs, post-high school college enrollment is declining, and conventional reform strategies do not appear to be effecting change. Graduating high school students aspire to attend postsecondary training by applying and being accepted but …

The Glass Jaw. The Presence Of Incivility, Conflict, And Bullying In Disempowering Workplaces: A Study Of Middle-Level Managers In Heis, Maria Esther Caratini Prado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Middle-level managers at HEIs experience stress-related conflicts that include incivility and bullying. There is a gap in the literature regarding middle-level managers’ contributions to improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace and the type of conflict-management training most suited to middle-level managers in HEIs when incivility, conflict, and bullying are present. This qualitative design study sought to understand conflict management from the perspective of HEI middle-level managers within the manager-to-subordinate relationship. The study examined the lived experiences of 10 HEI middle-level managers with coded data revealing four overall themes: structural challenges, sources of conflict, conflict training, and managing conflict. The results …

Lived Experiences Of Latino(A) College Students Enrolled In A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu), Gabriel Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many first-generation Latino(a) college students, the college-setting is a new and scary place. Without the support of family and friends, the chances for them dropping out or not finishing their college education grow. Recognizing that Latinos(as) make up a growing segment of the college-going population, higher education institutions and their leaders must not only recruit individuals from this demographic population, but must also work to help these students remain enrolled and guide them to graduation. Institutions must be able to provide a welcoming campus culture and environment as a means of fostering student success. Historically Black College and Universities …

Academic Advisors’ Experience With Academic Entitlement: A Phenomenological Study, Felicia A King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic entitlement is on the rise in higher education. Research on academic entitlement typically focuses on faculty and behavior inside the classroom. Academic entitlement affects the college as a whole, both inside and outside of the classroom. This phenomenological study explored academic entitlement within student affairs, specifically, academic advisors' experience with academic entitlement. Additionally, the study focused on a large community college, whereas previous studies were situated within 4-year colleges and universities. The phenomenological study aimed to determine what academic entitlement behaviors were present in academic advising and examine how academic advisors reacted to the academic entitlement behaviors. Twelve academic …

Exploratory Case Study Of Freshman Student Experiences In Developmental Education Courses That Encourage Persistence At One College In West Texas, Brandon A. Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore freshman student experiences in developmental education courses that encourage their persistence at one college in the West Texas region. More specifically, this study focused on the programs and services that benefit freshman community college students enrolled in developmental education courses. This study followed case study methodology to examine the student experience. The data were collected by way of personal interviews with students and employees that lasted on average of 45 minutes via the software Webex. The interviews were all conducted online from one community college in the West Texas region. Participants were …

Exploring The Voices, Experiences, And Leadership Career Paths Of Women Of Color In Higher Education, Tonya P. Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the voices, experiences, and factors promoting the leadership career paths of senior-level women of color in higher education and to capture the voices of senior-level women of color on how they were able to overcome the barriers and challenges to breaking the glass ceiling on their leadership career paths to senior-level administration in higher education. A phenomenological research method was employed to capture the participants’ voices, experiences, and leadership career paths of their roles in higher education. Results show that the women of color in the study confirmed the perceived challenges …