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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Full-Text Articles in Higher Education and Teaching

Experiences Of Male Learning Community Participants At A Private Historically Black University, Ryan Lamar Griffin Jan 2018

Experiences Of Male Learning Community Participants At A Private Historically Black University, Ryan Lamar Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many U.S. colleges and universities have created programs to improve retention and graduation rates of Black male students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the lived experiences of Black male learning community participants and discover what faculty and staff perceive to be major influences on the retention of this population. The conceptual framework was rooted in Tinto's student integration model and Swail's geometric model of student persistence and achievement. The research questions within this study examined what faculty/staff perceive to be a major influence on the retention of minority male learning community participants. The questions also …

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Secondary And Postsecondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Esl Students' Barriers To College Graduation, Barbara E. Griffin Jan 2018

Secondary And Postsecondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Esl Students' Barriers To College Graduation, Barbara E. Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Majority of English as second language (ESL) students attending primary and secondary schools in the United States are not considered college ready despite mandated educational strategies aimed at improving language acquisition and academic performance. ESL students are more likely to drop out within the first 2 years of college than their English-speaking peers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore educators' perspectives regarding high postsecondary attrition rates of ESL students in Middle Tennessee. Tinto's retention theory provided the framework for the study. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 6 Middle Tennessee public high school teachers and 6 Middle …

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Influence Of Reading Proficiency On Placement And Success In Online Developmental Mathematics, Diane Marie Stryk Jan 2018

Influence Of Reading Proficiency On Placement And Success In Online Developmental Mathematics, Diane Marie Stryk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community college leaders have spent years trying to improve success rates for students in developmental mathematics (DM) courses, but with little progress. This quantitative study, using a pre-experimental static-group research design, examined if a change in a community college district's policy and practices for student placement into DM courses could improve student success in online DM courses. Bounded rationality theory provided the lens to view how students' decision making is influenced by the lack of timely and appropriate information during the placement process. The study addressed whether a composite placement score, the result of combining the ACCUPLACER placement scores for …

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The Experiences Of Sailors With Antiterrorism Force Protection Training At Off-Installation Sites, Jessica Harrison Jan 2018

The Experiences Of Sailors With Antiterrorism Force Protection Training At Off-Installation Sites, Jessica Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enhancing antiterrorism force protection (ATFP) training at off-installation sites to allow employees to survive a life threatening situation is a necessity after recent events at such military installations. However, little is known about how service members perceive their current ATFP training experiences and how those experiences impact their self-confidence for responding to a threat. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how current training experiences impact confidence levels in learning basic security fundamentals to respond to a threat, as well as possible training changes that might improve confidence levels. This study used social constructivism, andragogy theory, heutagogy, and …

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Personal Connections Of First-Year College Students, Jaclyn Kopel Jan 2018

Personal Connections Of First-Year College Students, Jaclyn Kopel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A private, not-for-profit, 4-year urban university had been struggling to improve its 1st-year retention rate despite conducting previous studies and implementing various initiatives. This study explored the influence that students' personal connections to the study site had on their experience in their 1st year in college. Tinto's student integration models of attrition, Astin's theory on student involvement, and Berger and Milem's model of persistence served as the conceptual framework. A case study design was employed to examine faculty and staff members' beliefs on how the university established and maintained connections with its students and how faculty, staff, and students viewed …

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Education Models For Teaching Adults About Modifying Dietary Carbohydrate And Controlling Weight, Vincient Cleamons Jan 2018

Education Models For Teaching Adults About Modifying Dietary Carbohydrate And Controlling Weight, Vincient Cleamons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of diabetes and other pathophysiological conditions has been correlated with the incidence of obesity. A large portion of an adult community in the northwestern United States suffers from excessive weight that has been linked to premature mortality rates and certain forms of diabetes. Excess calories from carbohydrate have been shown to increase weight. Therefore, diets that are modified in carbohydrate and calories may help mitigate weight and obesity comorbidities. This qualitative, single case study's purpose was to explore the methods health care professionals use for teaching adults about controlling weight. Altheide and Johnson's analytic realism theory, in which …

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A Program Evaluation Of Performing Arts Instruction Used To Improve Soft Skills, Robert Lawrence Edwards Jan 2018

A Program Evaluation Of Performing Arts Instruction Used To Improve Soft Skills, Robert Lawrence Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence derived from the 2012 and 2015 College Senior Surveys (CSS) noted showed that college seniors, at a historically Black university, graduated with little to average soft skills. Soft skills, such as personal characteristics and relations with others, are needed for students to succeed in postgraduate careers. The purpose of this study was to assess the level to which performing arts instruction (PAI) courses developed college-level students' soft skills. Kolb's experiential learning theory, which defines the learning process as knowledge and skills developed through experiences, and Stufflebeam's evaluation model, which uses context, input, process, and product, were used to guide …

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Exploring Nontraditional Learner Engagement And Motivation Through Music Integration, Jessa Rae Hershner Jan 2018

Exploring Nontraditional Learner Engagement And Motivation Through Music Integration, Jessa Rae Hershner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increase in population of nontraditional adult learners paired with a demand for multisensory learning created a need for further research in best pedagogy in higher education. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the central question on how the integration of music, lyrics, or music videos into higher education classrooms affected the motivation and engagement levels of nontraditional adult learners. The conceptual framework was based upon self-determination theory, andragogy, multiple intelligences, and visual literacy. A multiple case design was used to collect data from 8 nontraditional higher education students. Data were collected via telephone interviews …

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Texas Success Initiative Test Scores As A Predictor Of College Mathematics Success, Brooke Lee Jan 2018

Texas Success Initiative Test Scores As A Predictor Of College Mathematics Success, Brooke Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Advisors use placement test scores as a means of predicting students' proficiency in mathematics; however, there is a debate about how accurately these scores predict students' success. This nonexperimental quantitative study focused on one test, the Texas Success Initiative (TSI). The purpose of the study was to determine whether the test is an accurate predictor of students' success in college algebra for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, and whether students who took the test continued pursuing a STEM major. The theoretical framework for this study was Tinto's theory of retention. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences …

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Critical Thinking And Clinical Judgment In Novice Registered Nurses, Sheila Tyne Jan 2018

Critical Thinking And Clinical Judgment In Novice Registered Nurses, Sheila Tyne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The health care field has become increasingly more complex, requiring new nurses to be prepared upon graduation to respond to a variety of complex situations. Unfortunately, many graduates from associate degree nursing (ADN) programs are not able to think critically upon entering the work force. This presents a major problem for the nurse and for the employer. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to gain a deeper understanding of the graduates' perceptions of their ability to critically think during their first year of clinical practice, and if they believed their program prepared them to be critical thinkers. The key …

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Improving Attendance In An Undergraduate Business Program At A For-Profit College, Erica Schacht Jan 2018

Improving Attendance In An Undergraduate Business Program At A For-Profit College, Erica Schacht

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a small for-profit college located outside of New York City, declining classroom attendance over the last few years has become a serious concern in the business program. Poor attendance is one of the major causes for enrollment dropping and poor student retention. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify factors that influence student attendance. The study was based on Tinto's (1975) model of student integration and Nora and Cabrera's (1996) student adjustment model, which relates environmental influences on student retention. The research questions were used to investigate why students attend or do not attend classes, and …

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An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby Jan 2018

An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Texas community college, stakeholders wanted to strengthen the financial literacy module offered in the student development course for undergraduates. The problem was that no formative data existed on students' financial literacy, and it was not known if knowledge of financial literacy for students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in high school differed from students who had not. The purpose of this study was to obtain formative data regarding students' needs for financial literacy education and to examine whether the knowledge of financial literacy for college students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in …

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Teacher Perceptions Of Instruction As An Expeditionary Learning Core Practice, Jamie M. Kociuba Jan 2018

Teacher Perceptions Of Instruction As An Expeditionary Learning Core Practice, Jamie M. Kociuba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban, low-achieving district in the northeastern United States, a small school has adopted the Expeditionary Learning (EL) philosophy and pedagogical approaches to instruction. Between the academic years of 2012-2016 state-assessed student achievement scores were less than proficient and implementation reviews revealed that the school made little to no improvement in the core practice category of instruction over 4 years of EL implementation. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to answer guiding questions by examining 12 teachers' perceptions regarding EL instruction as a core practice and element of the annual implementation review, and the impact of EL …

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Resiliency And Age As Predictors Of Academic Performance Among Adult Online Students With Trauma-Related Disabilities, Carrie Lebarron Jan 2018

Resiliency And Age As Predictors Of Academic Performance Among Adult Online Students With Trauma-Related Disabilities, Carrie Lebarron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding the importance of resilience in academic performance as it pertains to adult online students is valuable to the people who provide services to, work with, and are a part of the population. The need to develop and enhance social programs that will improve outcomes for students with trauma-related disabilities is beneficial in increasing graduation rates and improving on the time it takes for adult online students to graduate. There is also a need for research focused on students with trauma-related disabilities because the literature in the field was found to be lacking in information. The purpose of the study …

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Employers' Perceptions And Employment Of Individuals With Disabilities, Barbara Ann Rosemond Jan 2018

Employers' Perceptions And Employment Of Individuals With Disabilities, Barbara Ann Rosemond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Midwest school district, individuals with disabilities (IWD) graduating from high school are not successful in obtaining employment in the local community. District leaders were unable to make evidence-based decisions regarding the transition program due to a lack of data regarding employers' perceptions related to employment of IWD. The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to explore employers' perceptions regarding the employment of IWD. Using Tinto and Pusser's model of institutional action for student success, 12 employers were purposefully sampled in the target community, and data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed using comparative, inductive …

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Academic Role And Professional Identity Development In Counselor Education, Seth Scott Jan 2018

Academic Role And Professional Identity Development In Counselor Education, Seth Scott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional identity development occurs during graduate training through mentoring, modeling, and academic training by counselor educators. If counselor educators are to transmit this professional identity, they must possess a robust professional identity themselves. Professional identity development theory suggests that the strength of this professional identity may be threatened by a lack of belonging in academia for nontenured or contingent faculty. A correlational research design using a purposeful convenience sample was used to examine the relationship between academic role, employment status, years of experience, and professional identity among counselor educators. The participants (n=50) were counselor educators who subscribe to the CESNET-Listserv. …

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The Relationship Between Education Levels And Public Opinion Before The Iraq War, Damion Steele Jan 2018

The Relationship Between Education Levels And Public Opinion Before The Iraq War, Damion Steele

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that higher education is known to stabilize political opinions and thought to enhance critical thinking skills. The role that an individual's level of education plays in shaping public opinion during a foreign affairs crisis, within the context of repetitious and uniform news media coverage, has yet to be determined. The theoretical foundation of agenda-setting explains how salience is created by emphasizing certain messages and influencing public opinion and may bypass education and political knowledge. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between education level and public opinion immediately before the Iraq War. The …

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Effect Of Eustress, Flow, And Test Anxiety On Physical Therapy Psychomotor Practical Examinations, Todd Joseph Bourgeois Jan 2018

Effect Of Eustress, Flow, And Test Anxiety On Physical Therapy Psychomotor Practical Examinations, Todd Joseph Bourgeois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students at the graduate level undergo higher levels of stress compared to their peers, and this stress is known to affect academic performance. Most of the research is focused on the negative aspect of stress. Positive psychology aspects, such as eustress and flow, are related to success in some activities; however, it is unknown whether these correlate with academic performance. Several stress-related theories-Yerkes-Dodson curve, cybernetics, conservation of resources, and choking under pressure-guided this quantitative study of the effects of eustress, flow, and cognitive test anxiety (CTA) on a psychomotor practical examination for physical therapy students. A sample of 192 physical …

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Thematic Narrative Of Lgbt Faculty Members' Professional Identity And Activism, Kathy Luanne Williamson Gall Jan 2018

Thematic Narrative Of Lgbt Faculty Members' Professional Identity And Activism, Kathy Luanne Williamson Gall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 20 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have made progress in attaining the same basic civil rights as heterosexual individuals. As in other civil rights movements, the college campus has played an important role. The LGBT community participates in academic and campus life, and numerous colleges are developing and supporting an inclusive, safe, and respectful culture. However, bias and prejudice continue to occur. While researchers have studied the repercussions of prejudice, discrimination, and low evaluation scores for LGBT faculty, little research has been done to explore professional identity and activism in LGBT faculty at traditional …

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Online And Hybrid Graduate Student And Advisor Preferences, Melody Mayo Jan 2018

Online And Hybrid Graduate Student And Advisor Preferences, Melody Mayo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was the advising style preference of graduate-level students and advisors in online and hybrid programs at a university in rural Arkansas. Students and advisors will benefit from the results because the advisors will have a greater understanding of expectations during an advising session. The problem stems from the fact that graduate level advising is not considered important by administrators at the study institution. The purpose of this study was to determine how graduate level advisors can better serve students and to use the results as a tool for advisor training. The study was guided by …

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Challenges Of African American Female Veterans Enrolled In Higher Education, Latrice Jones Tollerson Jan 2018

Challenges Of African American Female Veterans Enrolled In Higher Education, Latrice Jones Tollerson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women represent 19% of the 2.1 million living female veterans. They are the largest minority group among veteran women; however, little is known about the challenges that they face when they transition to a postsecondary learning environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand better how this cohort of veterans who served in the U.S. Army during military campaigns in the Middle East overcame transitional challenges to higher education. This study utilized Schlossberg's adult transition theory and identity formation as described in Josselson's theory of identity development in women. The focus of this study was on …

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Admissions Criteria And First-Year Completion Rates In An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Allison Divine Jan 2018

Admissions Criteria And First-Year Completion Rates In An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Allison Divine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students in associate degree nursing (ADN) programs in the United States experience high attrition rates in the first year. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between preadmission factors and first-year ADN program completion rates at one college in the south central United States. Constructivist theory provided the framework for the study. Archival data for 228 students from one ADN program were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Results indicated a statistically significant association between prerequisite grade point average (GPA) and first-year program completion. An increase in the number of incoming students ages 25 years and …

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Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Data Decision-Making For Instructional Practice, Joy Simon Swain Jan 2018

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Data Decision-Making For Instructional Practice, Joy Simon Swain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an elementary school in the northeastern region of the United States elementary teachers struggled with using data to make instructional decisions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions about how their teaching experiences prepared them to use data to make lesson decisions. The theoretical-conceptual frameworks of this study were Bandura's self-efficacy, a theoretical framework of data use at the building level, and organizational routines framework. The data collected from interviewing eight elementary teachers revealed their perceptions of having to use data to make lesson decisions and how these perceptions influence their teaching practices. The …

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Students' Perception Of A Required Community Service Program In Kenya, Rispa Achieng' Odongo Jan 2018

Students' Perception Of A Required Community Service Program In Kenya, Rispa Achieng' Odongo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of community service to promote learning and civic responsibility in higher education has blossomed since the 1980s. The problem addressed in this study was that although the X University initiated the required community service program in 2004, it had not assessed the effectiveness of the program from students' perspectives. Using Kolb and Kolb's conceptual framework on experiential learning, a qualitative case study was used to evaluate the perceptions of 13 4th-year students who had participated in the required community service program during their 1st-year of study. The research questions were focused on students' perceptions on how community service …

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Educational Development Needs Of Higher Education Faculty Working With Ells, Kevin Joseph Martin Jan 2018

Educational Development Needs Of Higher Education Faculty Working With Ells, Kevin Joseph Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was undertaken to examine the educational development (ED) needs of higher education (HE) faculty who have English language learners (ELLs) in their mainstream courses but do not have specialized training in teaching such students. A quantitative approach was used to explore the impact of any existing ED and areas that might need improvement. This study, guided by andragogy, examined the pedagogical needs of these HE faculty. A cross-sectional analysis of online survey data using a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) examined the ED needs and available resources of faculty with respect to …

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Understanding Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Diversity, Catherine Moss Jan 2018

Understanding Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Diversity, Catherine Moss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diversity is a positive aspect of a student's educational experience. Current literature supports the value of diversity, confirming that skills are developed within a diverse learning environment that prepares students to thrive in a competitive global economy. The leadership at University X (UX) had implemented various initiatives to improve diversity, yet the problem addressed in this study was that students perceived differently, citing that diversity growth lacked progress. The goal of this single case study was to bring forth change with a specific intervention created to elevate diversity and a positive campus climate. Maslow's hierarchy of needs was used to …

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A Diabetic Child's Impact On An African American Family, Silvanus Okeke Jan 2018

A Diabetic Child's Impact On An African American Family, Silvanus Okeke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes, a chronic disease with devastating but preventable consequences, is common in the United States, especially within African American communities. Earlier research has indicated that 21.7% of African American parents have children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the Mississippi Delta Region. Researchers have examined coping, stress, and behaviors of African American parents of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; however, there is a gap in literature regarding how African American parents can cope with stress and how changes in health behavior due to Type 1 diabetes impact African American families. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to …

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Community College Transitioning Experiences Of Dual Enrollment Students, Sandra Lucille Fuline Jan 2018

Community College Transitioning Experiences Of Dual Enrollment Students, Sandra Lucille Fuline

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dual enrollment transitioning experiences of students are poorly understood, leaving higher education stakeholders without the proper information to smooth the transitioning process and keep students in college. This basic qualitative study using interviews explored how 10 dual enrollment students described their transitioning experiences from high school to community college by investigating their motivations, ability to acknowledge self-efficacy, and understanding of social interactions using Badura's self-efficacy model and Keller's motivational theory and the attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction model. Data were analyzed through an open coding method to categorize themes and patterns as well as discrepant information. Key findings indicated that …

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Community College Professors' Engagement And Perceptions Of Professional Development In Remote Environments, Norma-Jean J. Nielsen Jan 2018

Community College Professors' Engagement And Perceptions Of Professional Development In Remote Environments, Norma-Jean J. Nielsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that consistent, supportive, and relevant professional development (PD) is an action that empowers educators to change. In the east central region of Canada, the sustainability of community colleges had been linked to program collaboration and internationalization which requires implementation of high-quality PD for its professors. Guided by Mezirow's adult transformative learning theory, the purpose of this study was to understand the PD practices of full-time professors by investigating the connections between professors' level of engagement in PD and their perceptions of the resources and processes that may improve their instructional practices. This single-phased, concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted …

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A Case Study Of Student Success In Physical Therapist Assistant Programs: A Systems Approach, Penelope Lescher Jan 2017

A Case Study Of Student Success In Physical Therapist Assistant Programs: A Systems Approach, Penelope Lescher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Graduating sufficient numbers of healthcare providers to fill the needs of an aging population in the United States is a major social concern. To address this problem physical therapist assistant (PTA) programs need to improve their graduation rates to keep up with the demand for qualified personnel. Applying Senge's theory of effective systems, 1 medium-sized community college with an average pass rate of over 90% on the National Physical Therapist Assistant Examination (NPTAE) was selected to address the research question: What are the systems factors and how do they operate together to support student success in an associate degree PTA …

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