Higher Education Administration Commons^™

Discussion In The College Classroom: Getting Your Students Engaged And Participating In Person And Online. Jay R. Howard, 2015, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 224 Pp., $38.00 (Hardcover)., Tiffany Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

Discussion in the college classroom is an important and timely book for college level instructors who want to improve, revise, and deliver engaging courses across disciplines. The purpose of this work is to help college instructors understand the purpose behind fostering classroom discussions. Issues related to participation, classroom management, and class facilitation is discussed within this work. College instructors who teach face-to-face and online courses will find the content of this book useful. In the next section of this review, the reviewer provides a detailed overview of each chapter in the book and discusses the importance of this body of …

Critical College Experiences Of The Middle Third Of The High School Graduating Class, Nathan Kaoru Keikiokamakua Hanamaikai

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Seven recent graduates from a large, open access university in the Western United States who also graduated from high school in the middle third of their graduating class were interviewed to examine what they considered critical decisions during college and what effect those decisions had on their progress towards graduation. More than 45 critical incidents were identified by the participants. All incidents involved interaction with another person to some degree. All but 11 of the incidents were with people outside of institutional employees. Of the 11 incidents, the majority involved faculty members in either positive or negative situations. Upon further …

Community Partnerships In Urban, Title 1 Elementary Schools: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jae L. Strickland

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify and describe community partnerships in Urban, Title 1 Elementary Schools.

Fifty-one principals from the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States completed a 19-question on-line survey designed to explore community partnerships in Urban, Title 1 Elementary Schools. Of the 51 principals who completed the survey, 26 agreed to participate in a semi-structured interview.

The findings of the study suggest that community partnerships play an essential role in supporting Urban, Title 1 Elementary Schools. Finding community partners can be challenging. Principals who wish to engage community partners should identify the needs …

Case Study: Applying Communities Of Practice In Graduate Enrollment Management For A Cultural Interpretation Of Workplace Learning, Dean Campbell, Nadielka Bishop, Sanjiv Sarin

Journal of Research Initiatives

This paper undertakes a cultural interpretation of the roles professional expertise play in the workplace with a community of post-secondary administrators at one institution. To better understand and evaluate Wenger’s (1998) concept of communities of practice, this case study explored boundaries, intersections, and learning communities in communities of practice in graduate enrollment management (GEM). The paper examined communities of practice at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The study defined the following interventions as indicators of a community of practice in graduate enrollment management: a) boundaries of position; (b) constellations of communities; and (c) learning communities. The paper also considered implications …

The Influence Of Creativity Inhibitors And Collectivist Dynamics, Anthony Abidemi Olalere

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examines the mediating influence of creativity inhibitors on collectivist dynamics and faculty creativity in higher education organizations. Complexity theory was employed to frame how collectivist dynamic (Complexity Interaction) and creativity inhibitor foster faculty creativity in higher education. The Partial Least Square of Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data using the PLS algorithm, and mediating effect to assess the predictive accuracy on creativity among 73 tenure and tenure-track faculty members in a south east research-based university in the United States. The result showed that creativity inhibitors have positive influence on the interaction between complexity interaction (collectivist) …

The 'Rules Of Engagement': The Ethical Dimension Of Doctoral Research, Christopher Berg

Journal of Research Initiatives

The pursuit of a doctorate is a rite of passage that requires a student to successfully navigate the transition from “student” to “scholar.” One area of practice, however, that is often marginalized is the role of ethics. Though there is no formal coursework in ethics, its importance cannot be understated. This essay examines the conceptual role of ethics in doctoral research as both an individual reflective essay as well as a broader discussion of ethics in general. The ethical dimension considered is broken down into eight principles or ethical research and practice in doctoral research. The “Eight Ethical Principles” will …

Advising Doctoral Students In Education Programs, Christy M. Craft, Donna Augustine-Shaw, Amanda Fairbanks, Gayla Adams-Wright

Christy Moran Craft

Students With Physical Disabilities - Reflections On Their Experiences With Work Preparation Programs, Services And Accommodations In A Higher Education Institution, Claudia Castillo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a variety of reasons, college students with disabilities encounter stressors beyond those of students who do not have disabilities. One of the more salient examples is that students with disabilities are required to disclose that they have a disability and to communicate with faculty and staff in order to receive academic accommodations, as afforded to them under sub-part E of Section 504 of the Education and Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Therefore, postsecondary institutions are required to make appropriate accommodations available to students with disabilities, but they are not required to proactively seek them out.

The purpose of this study …

California Community Colleges Student Equity, Esl And Basic Skills Students, Janet L. Daugherty

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

The leadership of California Community Colleges had been tasked with examining the data of English Language Learners (ELL) in urban, rural and suburban settings. This student popluation has difficulty navigating noncredit language courses that are prerequisites to college level credit courses leading to specialized certiciates and/or an associate's degree. The leaders at the community college level discovered gaps in student course completion data, students for whom English is a second language (ESL). These students sometimes do not receive support services toward successful course completion. Through analyzing course completion data, the leaders can implement student support services to assist ELL in …

Beyond Behavior, Craig C. Laupheimer

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Teaching to engage students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can inspire the whole classroom and make teaching and learning engaging and exciting. Although teachers and students alike face a challenging educational landscape, much can be done to empower students with special needs. Teaching with the whole classroom in mind with an emphasis on hands on, explorative and inspirational learning experiences to accommodate for these students strengthens and causes student engagement and agency. This article highlights the challenges and potential breakthroughs possible for classroom instruction specifically where the ADHD student is concerned and looks towards teaching mindfulness and empowerment as …

Nontraditional Student Risk Factors And Gender As Predictors For Enrollment In College Distance Education, Tammy Crews Pao

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether nontraditional student age, female gender, and the possession of nontraditional student risk factors predict enrollment in distance education college courses. This dissertation used data from the most recent National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12), which consisted of approximately 95,000 undergraduate students who were enrolled in higher education in 2011-2012. The results of a logistic regression analysis indicated that both nontraditional student age and female gender were strong predictors of enrollment in distance education, whereas the number of nontraditional student risk indicators was a partial predictor. As leaders in higher education are …

Realizing The Dream: African American Males’ Narratives That Encouraged The Pursuit Of Doctoral Education, Ted N. Ingram

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article used personal narratives to discover factors affecting the decision of African American males to consider doctoral education. This study was based on qualitative interviews with 18 African American male doctoral students enrolled at predominantly white institutions as they reflected on their reasons for pursuing an advanced degree. The following were found to influence their decision: (a) need for faculty encouragement, (b) motivation to pursue a doctorate, and (c) their personal motivations. Recommendations are offered for increasing the numbers of African American male doctoral students.

2016 Foundation Financial Statements, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Foundation Financial Statements

SWOSU Foundation Financial Statements produced by the SWOSU Foundation and Alumni Association.

Single Mothers Of Young Children And Continuing Education, Jackiethsha Lynette Fluellen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of households headed by single mothers living in poverty exceeds that of all other categories of poverty-stricken households, and poverty impacts the children negatively in various ways. When single mothers choose not to continue their education, they lessen their chances of finding higher paying jobs and raising their families out of poverty. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand why some single mothers decided to continue into higher education. The study considered the decisions of 6 single mothers of young children in Montgomery County, Texas, and the obstacles they overcame while completing their education. The …

The Effect Of Simulation Training On Nursing Students' Content Exam Scores, Lori Ann Podlinski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Simulation training has been implemented at a small nursing school in the eastern United States to improve the currently low content exam scores in nursing courses. With the guidance of Kolb's experiential learning theory, differences in 8 course content exam scores were investigated for students who received simulation training in the content area before the exam and students who received simulation training after the exam, using a quasi-experimental, comparative design. Archival exam scores from 424 content exams, 212 completed by students who received simulation training before the exam and 212 completed by students who received simulation training after the exam, …

Using Spiral Dynamic Theory For Adult Civic Engagement Research And Social Justice Education, Lisa R. Brown

Adult Education Research Conference

Empirical civic engagement research based in a South American context. Participants included adult learner populations engaged in revolutionary protests that opposed private for-profit education in Chile. Findings were higher order Spiral Dynamic Theory thinking at the for-profits and lower civic engagement.

A Case Study Of Choices Of The Host University And Decisions To Stay Or Leave The U.S. Upon Graduation Of Chinese Adult And Traditional Students, Xi Lin, Hong Shi, Mingyu Huang

Adult Education Research Conference

Chinese students are the largest group among all the international students. Many factors motivate them to study in the U.S. and their decision to stay or leave the U.S. after graduation. However, limited research investigates these aspects by differentiating students into non-traditional students and traditional student groups. As a result, this study conducted individual interviews to examine: 1) factors that influence Chinese students’ (non-traditional students vs. traditional students) choices of the host college or university in the U.S.; and 2) their decisions to stay or leave the U.S. after graduation. Eleven Chinese students participated in this study, including seven female …

Theorizing From The Literature: Rural Nc African American Males Who Fail To Complete Early College, Joyce B. Valentine

Adult Education Research Conference

The African American male dropout rate remains horrific. Educational institutions need to revise their curriculum design and retention strategies. This study examines rural African American males who fail to complete high school using intersectionality and ecological systems theory.

The Impact Of Self-Efficacy On Retention In Technical Colleges, Percy W. Reed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vocational and career training institutes focus their energy and resources on student support services, increasing student retention as it relates to minority populations. Despite these efforts, a specific vocational and career institute in the southeast United States reports a 50% retention rate of students who are enrolled. This case study explored students' descriptions of how self-efficacy supported their perseverance while attending the vocational and career training institute. The conceptual framework included Bandura's notions of self-efficacy and Tinto's integration model. Purposeful sampling strategies were used to interview 10 successfully-retained students enrolled in their 4th term or beyond at the vocational and …

Nurse Practitioner Residency Programs: An Educational Journey, Gregory Paul Rys

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Primary care is in a state of crisis due to the lack of clinicians and increasing numbers of insured patients. Encouraging more students to go directly through school for their doctor of nursing practice degree and nurse practitioner (NP) certifications is one proposal to alleviate this crisis. However, this approach would deliver graduates with minimal leadership and clinical experiences directly into practice. One resolution to mitigate this concern would be an NP residency program. Evaluating the knowledge and attitudes of stakeholders prior to the implementation of a NP residency program is an important first step to this implementation plan. The …

Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans account for a disproportionate percentage of students who pursue college education in comparison to European Americans. Indeed, a considerable number of African American High School Equivalency (HSE) students are not enrolling in college once they earn their HSE diploma. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine 3 African American HSE students' perceptions about factors that influenced their pursuit of higher education at the selected HSE study site. These 3 students were selected for their inclusion because of their ethnicity, enrollment in the HSE program, academic underpreparedness and lack of pursuit of higher education, and strong …

Impact Of Orientation Programs On Nontraditional Students' Perceived Academic Success In Adult Education Programs, Marsha Ann Webster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many administrators and faculty within higher education institutions have grappled with identifying and employing effective strategies to facilitate student success and persistence. The current study focuses on assessing nontraditional students' self-efficacy beliefs and their perception of the orientation program at a 2-year continuing education program in a Caribbean nation. The study is important as the findings have the potential to increase nontraditional students' persistence and learning. Bandura's social cognitive theory and the theory of self-efficacy served as the theoretical frameworks of this sequential mixed-methods design study. The quantitative research questions examined the reported self-efficacy levels of 77 participants and nonparticipants …

Case Study: Moral And Ethical Decisions Some Students Make Pursuing Their Doctoral Degrees From Accredited For-Profit Universities, Anne Pinchera

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to identify issues some doctoral students face in obtaining their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from accredited for-profit colleges and universities. The three participants attended for-profit universities in the past five years and failed to obtain their doctoral degrees. Data collection is through an initial demographics survey, qualification survey, vignettes, and the interview itself. Data analysis from the Coding Manual for Qualitative Research by Johnny Saldana is used to analyze the data collected from problems doctoral students encounter in pursuit of their doctoral degree (Saldana, 2013). The theoretical foundations for this project come …

Military Students' Persistence In Earning An Online College Degree, Aysel Renay Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain insight into the factors that military students perceive to have an impact on their persistence. The conceptual framework for this study was Knowles' principles of andragogy. The research questions were designed to explore military students' persistence, measures of engagement in academic activities, decisionmaking to assure success, and the strategies considered important to earn a degree at an online college. Demographic surveys, status reports and degree plans, and semistructured telephone interviews were collected from 13 military students. Interview data were transcribed and all data were open coded and thematically analyzed. Military …

Preparing Faculty To Teach Online: Promoting Success In The Online Classroom, Julia Babcock Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Distance learning students at a community college in the southeast United States were not completing their coursework as well as were students enrolled in traditional courses. This disparity was negatively affecting the institution's state performance measures, putting at risk the institution's state-based funding under the state's performance model. The purpose of this qualitative, bounded case study was to explore faculty experiences with online course professional development and faculty's teaching practices related to successful student online course completion. Chickering and Gamson's 'Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education' served as the study's conceptual foundation. Distance learning faculty (n = 10), …

Professional Development Needs Of Faculty Members In An International University In Thailand, Loïse M. Jeannin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different

countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via …

The Relationships Among Job Satisfaction, Length Of Employment, And Mentoring Of Nursing Faculty, Zelda Suzan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The shortage of faculty in nursing education programs has been well documented by the National League for Nursing. Job satisfaction is important in retaining nurse educators, and one New York nursing program was interested in examining the potential impact of mentoring on satisfaction. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine job satisfaction, measured by the Job Descriptive Index/Job in General scale (JDI/JIG), between nurse faculty participants in formal mentoring programs compared to participants receiving an informal type of mentoring. In addition, the length of employment was examined as a possible factor in predicting job satisfaction. The theoretical framework …

Adult Students' Perceptions Of Transfer Services At An Historically Black University, Kimberly Anne Crews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics have indicated a steady growth of students attending 3 or more institutions while pursuing a baccalaureate degree. When students transfer institutions, they may have specific needs for their new institution. Informed by the transfer receptive culture framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of students who had attended 3 or more postsecondary institutions on the services they received, before and after their transfer. Purposeful sampling yielded 9 adult students with multiple-institution attendance histories. Data were collected through semistructured instant messaging interviews. A series of messages included …

Understanding The Relationships Among Students' Goal Orientations, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, And Accelerated Academic Success In The Redesign Of Developmental Mathematics, Kelly Ann Hogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low success rates of increasing numbers of underprepared students taking developmental mathematics classes 'often minority and economically disadvantaged' are challenging community colleges across the United States. These students, who must start in the lowest levels of precollege mathematics courses, are unlikely to pass the first course and earn a credential. Using a mastery goal orientation theoretical framework, a quantitative, survey research design was used to ascertain any correlations between students' goal orientations, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and success in a new model of learning. Survey data were used to answer 3 research questions: (a) the relationship between success and students' …

Evaluation Of A College Of Medicine Peer-Mentoring Program, Myra Haney Singleton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Peer-mentoring experiences in higher education have been largely effective largely effective, however institutions implement them differently. The focus of this program evaluation was a peer-mentoring program at a medical school in the southeastern region of the United States, which had not previously been evaluated. Guided by Kolb's experiential learning theory, the purpose of the evaluation in this study was to examine whether the peer-mentoring experience was perceived as helpful to new students and how students thought the program could be improved. The sequential mixed-method design consisted of a survey of 179 students and interviews of 8 students. A thematic analysis …