<p> This study investigated relationships between nine independent variables and three dependent variables measuring intrinsic motivation (for knowledge, to accomplish, to experience), extrinsic motivation (external, introjected, and identified regulation), and amotivation (neither intrinsic nor extrinsic motivation), in a comparison analysis of second-generation Iranians and American university students. The nine independent variables measured were, participant&rsquo;s age, participant&rsquo;s education, father&rsquo;s education, mother&rsquo;s education, parental income, gender, number of siblings, stress, and confidence. Based on the principles of self-determination theory a multidimensional approach was taken that included assessments of self-efficacy (stress and confidence) and need for social approval to determine if there were any possible interrelationships with the outcome variables. <i>T</i>-test results revealed a significant difference in each motivational type between the Iranian group and the American group. In a step-wise backward multiple regression technique, the nine independent factors were analyzed to determine possible relationships with the outcome variables. The independent variables had a notable influence on the outcome variables and the variable <i>confidence </i> was consistently observed for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Parental income, gender, stress, and participant&rsquo;s post-graduate/PhD degree level had a direct influence on amotivation. Results indicate that self-determination, autonomy, and regulation of behavior are internalized differently in diverse individuals and social background plays a significant role. Limitations and recommendations for future research are also discussed. </p>

This thesis has sought to examine how and why mathematics lecturers in Saudi Arabian universities use software for teaching. It is a large-scale, mixed methods study within a post positivist tradition, utilising data collected from interviews and a questionnaire. Eighteen lecturers from two mathematics departments at two major universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were interviewed individually in their offices. Further, 151 lecturers responded to the questionnaire distributed to lecturers of Mathematics and Statistics at eight long-established state universities in KSA. This study explains why lecturers of mathematics at universities use or do not use ICT for teaching and, in so doing, contributes to an under-researched area of study. It raises questions as to how users and non-users of software regard the nature of teaching and learning of mathematics at universities and the contribution of ICT in university-level mathematics. Previous research on the use of software by mathematics teachers has identified a range of factors affecting take up and use of ICT, including access to ICT resources, knowledge of how to integrate technology into mathematics teaching, and beliefs about the role of technology in learning and teaching and assessing mathematics (e.g. an overreliance on technology, use of technology as a black box, use of calculators in examinations). However, there remains ongoing debate about the balance of internal and external factors in the take up of ICT and whether factors related to easy access to software are more (or less) influential than teachers’ beliefs. The findings of this study revealed that identification with the branch of mathematics was a key factor in determining the lecturers who are likely to be users of software in teaching. In particular, it was found that statisticians and computational mathematicians were more likely to be users of software because they were teaching courses which require the use of software. The findings suggested that despite all of the encouraging conditions, contextual and internal barriers — such as a curriculum with heavy and fixed content; software which was not assessed in many cases; lack of cooperation between lecturers to produce curricula which included the use of software; and doubts about the value of software — were at work here. This study has a special interest in Valsiner’s Zone Theory as a lens to study the take up of ICT. In particular, the Zone Theory demystifies why the take up of mathematical software by the mathematics lecturers was patchy despite the good access to ICT resources and the high potential of the use of software in mathematics teaching. From the Zone Theory’s perspective, lecturers worked within a particularly broad zone of free movement but a weak zone of promoted action so that lecturers’ activity was rarely ‘canalised’ into using mathematical software. The Zone Theory puts emphasis on agency-structure dualism, focusing on the actions carried out by individual lecturers as ‘agents’ in the context of constraining and enabling ‘structures’ when making a decision on whether software should be used in teaching. This thesis has reaffirmed the call for more theoretical and empirical research on the issue of the integration of mathematical software in the teaching and learning of mathematics in higher education.

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify the learning styles of international college students and instructional styles of their teachers in specific content areas to determine if relationships existed between the two. In addition, this study examined whether relationships existed between academic achievement, learning style, and teaching style, as well as between demographic factors, learning style, and teaching style. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the transformational leadership behaviors of nursing instructors in the clinical learning environment and the level of communication apprehension experienced by associate degree nursing students. The study also examined if this relationship was altered by the moderating effect of age, gender, and previous clinical exposure on the transformational leadership behaviors of nursing instructors in the clinical learning environment. This study employed a non-experimental quantitative correlational survey design. Participants consisted of 481 associate degree nursing students who were members of the National Student Nurses&rsquo; Association (NSNA). Descriptive statistics, univariate, bivariate (correlational) and multivariate (regression) testing were utilized in the analysis of data. Data analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between all but one of the transformational leadership subscales (providing individualized support) and communication apprehension. Additionally, the data revealed a statistically significant relationship between age, gender, high performance expectations and communication apprehension. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between communication apprehension and previous clinical exposure.</p>

<p> One of the challenges in nursing education is the need to enable students to internalize the skills needed to implement the thought processes of critical thinking and clinical reasoning. The research of Patricia Benner has been instrumental in explaining the need to improve the critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills of newly licensed registered nurses. Dr. Benner&rsquo;s research has changed the focus of nursing to include these skills in the education process. The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a classroom educational method designed to help students improve these skills. The ex post facto study was conducted at one Southern community college with students enrolled in an Associate Degree nursing program. The study used the nursing educational theory of Patricia Benner and the general educational theory of constructivist educational theory as a theoretical base. Archived data was collected from the results of two cohorts of nursing students based on their performance on two separate administrations of the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) critical thinking examination. The data was analyzed using central tendency statistics and an independent samples <i>t</i>-test. Analysis of the data indicate that the educational implementation was effective in increasing the skills needed for clinical reasoning as evaluated by the ATI critical thinking examination. The cohort that used the Critical Thinking Teaching Method (CRTM) increased their scores by 5.62 percent while the cohort that did not use the CRTM scores remained relatively static</p>

<p> Previous research indicated that women&rsquo;s advancement into the leadership and administrative ranks in higher education has stalled over the past twenty years. Studies highlighted the socio-cultural and structural barriers that create challenges for women&rsquo;s advancement in the academy. This study focused on the use of women-only leadership development programs (WLDPs) as a potential resource for women in the pursuit of advancing their careers. Few research studies to date assess the outcome for women who have attended WLDPs.</p><p> This study was an in-depth case study of the Women in Higher Education Leadership Summit (WHELS) held at the University of San Diego, School of Leadership and Education Studies. Using a sequential transformative mixed methods design, 95 WHELS alumnae were contacted to answer the research question &ldquo;How do women from various social locations understand the influence of WHELS on their career plan/trajectory?&rdquo; Using a quantitative survey (37% response rate), followed by qualitative interviews, five main hypotheses were tested to determine if WHELS alumnae reported improved leadership identity, improved leadership ability, improved understanding of effective leadership styles, whether they had advanced in their career, and if alumnae attributed WHELS to their advancement.</p><p> Based upon the findings all five hypotheses were supported by the quantitative data. Qualitative data also supported the quantitative findings, but it provided clarification into how women experienced WHELS. The qualitative findings revealed that women reported benefitting from attending WHELS, it confirmed the leadership ability and style the women already possessed. WHELS built women&rsquo;s self-awareness and self-confidence, allowing women to adopt a leadership identity. Women benefited from this leadership identity as it built their self-efficacy and agency.</p><p> This study confirmed that women do face socio-cultural and structural barriers in institutions of higher education, which create barriers to their advancement into leadership roles. However, through the completion of WHELS, the participants of this study built self-confidence in their leadership abilities, adopting a leadership identity. Through this process the women in this study returned to their institutions with self-efficacy and agency. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings, limitations, recommended future research, and implications for action.</p>

<p>The battle of reintegration has largely been lost by the country?s veterans with disabilities, now identified as Wounded Warriors. High rates of homelessness, suicide, unemployment, and depression are reminders that the war goes on for them long after they have come home. The lost war of reintegration ? especially in terms of the college classroom ? served as the foundation of this study. Staff, faculty, and fellow students are often inadequately prepared to meaningfully interact with Wounded Warriors. Using a phenomenological approach, the goal of this study was to uncover the lived experiences of Wounded Warriors in the college classroom and use the findings to help colleges and universities effectively integrate them into the classroom and university experience. The five themes that emerged from in-depth interviews were: friction with traditional undergraduates, cooperation with adult learners, self-accountability, professorial training, and relating to other veterans. Results showed that traditional undergraduates were one of the biggest transition obstacles Wounded Warriors faced. Cooperation with adult learners was positive; self-accountability was the primary motivation behind academic success; professorial training was uniformly confirmed; relating to other veterans was positive but deeply nuanced. The findings of this study confirm the need for further research to better understand and serve this segment of the higher education student population.

<p> Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of people for sex or labor through &ldquo;force, fraud, or coercion.&rdquo; My research consists of an evaluation of three prevention and awareness-raising human trafficking presentations on a Southern California university campus for students&rsquo; retention and use of information. Using surveys, interviews, and participant-observation, I found that following the presentations, students had a more prescribed definition and identification of human trafficking. Additionally, students are likely to identify the most visible warning signs of human trafficking. Their understanding of human trafficking may have some correlation with choice of major (i.e., science-oriented majors are less likely to understand human trafficking in depth than are students with majors in business and the humanities). I recommend providing &ldquo;tangible takeaways&rdquo; to aid with recall of resources. Working more with students, especially those with science-related majors, to identify less visible warning signs of human trafficking is also recommended. </p>

Historically fund raising, or development, in higher education was the purview of only private four-year colleges; today, however, virtually all institutions of higher education are engaged in this endeavor. Attaining an institution‘s fundraising goals has become an integral part of a university president‘s or chancellor‘s role, consuming a high percentage of the CEO‘s time. While the president works very closely with the development office in garnering private support, there is often another player significant to the success of a university‘s development efforts. ―Hired‖ along with the CEO, the individual serves a major role, but has no job description and often works without a contract or remuneration. This is the spouse of the CEO. This study employed qualitative methodology to elucidate the role of the university CEO‘s spouse in development, alumni relations, and fund raising. The research focused on the traditional president‘s spouse, a female married to a male CEO. Seventeen interviews with spouses, development officers, and university trustees at seven different public land-grant universities were conducted to explore several questions: whether the spouse‘s role in development is formalized; whether the spouse was aware of the school‘s expectations for her in this area; the role of professional development staff in assisting the first lady; whether the spouse is recognized or compensated for her duties; how the spouse‘s role could be improved; and what could be done to make the role more satisfying, productive, or efficient. Several thematic areas were addressed regarding the first lady: (a) interview processes, (b) qualities, (c) support of the president, (d) role in development, (e) role in the university community, (f) acknowledgement, and (g) public opinion. The findings provide a multifaceted view of the role of the university president‘s wife in development. Recommendations for improving the role of the presidential spouse in university development include fostering open communication between all parties, tailoring the role to the individuals and institutions involved, and acknowledging the role of the spouse.

This thesis examines the employment conditions for clerical and administrative staff within the British Higher Education Sector. For this analysis a national questionnaire was distributed and 747 responses were returned and analysed. In order to further enrich the qualitative research data, 30 interviews were also conducted, mainly with clerical and secretarial staff but also with management staff who had progressed from clerical grades. The main focus of the research was to examine inequalities within the higher education sector that impinge particularly on the clerical and administrative workforce. The thesis develops an analytic framework based on dual systems theory to show how clerical occupations have developed into highly segregated female-dominated occupations. The dual influences of capitalism and patriarchy in the development of female disadvantage is illustrated in the historical sections of the thesis. Inequality regimes which operate within hierarchical organisations such as universities are then used to explain how these class and gender-based disadvantages are replicated and reinforced through organisational structures and processes. The conclusions drawn by the thesis demonstrate that class and gender discrimination is entrenched within the British Higher Education system. This institutionalised discrimination continues to work to the disadvantage of women in all occupational groups across the sector. However, clerical and administrative staff, as a predominately female. 2 group of workers, are particularly vulnerable to inequalities and lack of opportunities, both because of their gender and also their class position within the organisational hierarchy.