Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Motivations For Volunteering In A Faith-Based Mentoring Program, Trudy Weatherspoon Willis-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Adolescent males are being suspended or expelled at high rates. Faith-based organizations have developed programs to address these problems by using adult male volunteers to mentor high-risk youth; however, recruiting sufficient mentors is a problem because organizers lack an understanding of the factors that motivate men to volunteer. If this problem can be alleviated, then faith-based organizations will be better able to recruit volunteers to serve students. Guided by the functionalist theory, the purpose of this study was to determine what demographic characteristics and motivating factors discriminated between volunteers and non-volunteers. A causal comparative design was employed and the …

Nontraditional Hispanic College Students' Perceptions Of Their Sense Of Belonging At A 2-Year College In Southwest Texas, Ronald Eugene Zawacki-Maldonado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sense of belonging contributes to graduation persistence among nontraditional Hispanic college students. The collectivist culture among these adult learners often results in family and work obligations that curtail their pursuit of higher education. The voices of these students are mostly absent in the current literature and warrant the current research study. Sense of belonging and retention theory formed the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study. A purposeful sample of 16 nontraditional Hispanic students enrolled in a 2-year community college in Southwest Texas participated in interviews. Data analysis focused on themes …

A Narrative Inquiry Of Successful Black Male College Students, Malou Chantal Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite a growing enrollment of Black males in colleges and universities in the U.S., the nationwide college degree completion rate for Black males remains at disproportionately low numbers as compared to other ethnicities and to that of Black females. The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to evoke and promote the voices of successful Black male students and to understand their perspectives on factors that contributed to their college success. Findings from this research provide insight into college experiences and interventions that have positive implications for Black male college student success. Valencia's (2010) work on educational attainment served as …

Veteran Educators' Perceptions Of The Internet's Impact On Learning And Social Development, Matthew Vincent Glowiak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a time where some 2.4 billion Internet users exist worldwide, children are increasingly impacted by the Internet's influence, both directly and indirectly. With technology now playing a significant role in childhood learning and social development, many unforeseen shifts are occurring that will ultimately impact lifespan development. Although researchers have provided mixed results concerning the impact of the Internet on learning and social development, the body of evidence indicates that veteran K-8 educators who are comfortable and experienced with the Internet view it more favorably. This grounded theory study systematically generated the multisystem technological engagement theory (MSTET) to explain the …