Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Needs Of College Students Experiencing Housing Instability, Sandy D. Dawoud

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explored the needs and experiences of college students who have aged out of the foster care system and facing housing instability at a large public institution. The study explores the participants' pre-college experiences and college journey to identify challenges they faced, sources of support, and unmet needs impacting their education. Analysis of 14 individual interviews highlighted key themes related to motivations, obstacles, and desired assistance across areas like finances, mental health, academics, and support systems. This work has implications for implementing tailored institutional support, community partnerships, transition programs, and advocacy efforts to promote resilience and success for …

Modest Aspirations: Day Dreams, Frivolity, And Digital Lives Of Public College Girls In Lahore, Pakistan, Anam Khan

Theses and Dissertations

This project was conceived out of a policy announcement in 2016 where the Higher Education Commission Pakistan announced that the two-year colleges were to be phased out and eventually eliminated. In doing so, the notice suggested that they will be replaced by programs modeled around the United States community college and called Associate Degrees. This ongoing development formed the basis of my research as for many gender and class minorities, these programs are the only option for post-secondary education in a country where many do not have the privilege to go to college. I aimed to analyze the kind of …

At The End Of The Day We All Want To Get High, Karolina Barrientos

Senior Theses and Projects

The consumption of cannabis is nothing new to college campuses and with the legalization of cannabis in Connecticut, it will for certain continue at Trinity College. However historically research centered on cannabis has focused on its negative impacts and not on its benefits or its impact on positive experiences. In examining my habitus, Trinity College, through a sociological lens, I wanted to examine the interactions once builds on campus in relation to cannabis and uncover is it is racialized in any way. Trinity as inherent white supremacist institution, and the experiences of students of color often differ from their white …

Family Dimensions Of Unequal College Experiences: Students’ Talk Of Self And College In Relation To Family Resources And Relationships, Michael Carl Ide

Doctoral Dissertations

The “college experience” is normatively presented as enacting independence, often while financially relying on parents. This view normalizes white, middle-class models of college and family. The three interrelated papers comprising this dissertation investigate race, class, and gender differences and inequalities at college through the lens of students’ talk of family. These inductive, qualitative studies draw on semi-structured intensive interviews with undergraduates to explore divergent ways they make sense of college, family, and their self-development. Analyses highlight the multifaceted, and sometimes contradictory meanings participants attach to themes commonly presented as simple and objective (i.e. “paying for college,” “independence,” and “adulthood”). Findings …

Higher Education Responses To Crisis: A Case Study Of Clark University And The Pandemic Of 2020, Lisa Gillingham

School of Professional Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered an existential challenge to universities and other academic institutions at a time when they are already grappling with other weighty issues that may alter the fabric of higher education. COVID-19 has forced these institutions to consider and employ new ways of conducting its work with a sense urgency that is unprecedented in the recent history of the academy. The rate of learning around these models is rapid, and Higher Education is ripe for change.

Clark University has addressed the pandemic with a plan to protect and pivot using strategies that support the continuation of its …

A Public Health Perspective Of The Higher Education Experiences Of Women Studying Nursing: A Hermeneutic Inquiry Into Commencement And Progression, Lesley Jane Andrew

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

While student retention is a central goal across higher education, the projected shortage in the Australian health workforce has intensified its importance to undergraduate nursing.

Nursing degrees attract a higher proportion of mature-age women students than ever before. More are therefore beginning university at life stage characterised by marriage (or co-habitation) and traditional family structures. Nursing retention strategies require an understanding of the unique university experiences of these women, however, this is missing in the nursing literature. This study is the first to explore the experiences of these women students, doing so from the perspective of Bachelor of Science (Nursing) …

Why Class Matters: Understanding The Relationship Between Class, Family Involvement, And Asian American College Students’ Success, Blair Harrington

Masters Theses

Drawing on intensive interviews with 61 Asian American undergraduates from diverse class and ethnic backgrounds, this paper investigates the relationship between class, family involvement, and student success. I assess three hypotheses derived from the literature. First, social reproduction theorists suggest that parents from advantaged class backgrounds provide more support—economic and cultural capital—to their children than parents from disadvantaged class backgrounds, which leads to greater success for these advantaged offspring. Second, some research challenges this view, arguing instead that class does not impact students’ receipt of support or their resulting success. Third, some now suggest that larger amounts of support may …

Developing And Implementing A Lgbt Family Studies Course: A Pre-Post Evaluation, Kathryn Alexandra Conrad

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the pre- and post-course knowledge and attitudes regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families. An upper-level, Child and Family Studies undergraduate course, Modern Families, was constructed and piloted during the Spring 2016 semester to provide students with empirically-based information on contemporary families with a heavy emphasis on LGBT individuals and families. Participants (N = 19), who were enrolled in the course, participated in a series of open- and close-ended surveys at the beginning (Time 1 [T1]) and end (Time 2 [T2]) of the semester that assessed their knowledge and attitudes towards diverse …

Motherhood First: An Interpretive Description Of The Experience Of Mature Age Female Students With Dependent Children At One Regional University Campus In Australia, Amanda Draper

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explored the experience of mature age female students with dependent children at one regional university campus in Western Australia, Edith Cowan University South West (ECUSW). These students are one of many student groups whose experience differs to that of more traditional students such as young, unmarried, and well-supported school-leaver students. Although all students enter university with experiences that make them valuable to the university institution, mature age female students with dependent children enter university with unique knowledge, experiences and attitudes making them potentially valuable contributors to their own and others’ learning (Martins & Anthony, 2007). Whilst at university, …