Compared to their peers, low-income students are 90% less likely to graduate within 6 years and are more likely to drop out. At the local site, this problem is also evident in that the retention rate for the Fall 2014-15 cohort was 78.3%, but just 60.2% for those defined as low-income students. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of low-income 1st year college students' perceived confidence in their use of technology and how it influenced their decision to stay in college. Understanding the role technology plays in the decision to stay in college will shed light on ways to offer support to increase retention of these students. The conceptual framework that guided the study was Bruno's confidence based learning methodology. This framework suggests there is a connection between knowledge and confidence. A qualitative descriptive design was used collecting data through a series of 10 open-ended interviews with low-income 1st year college students. The central research question explored how low-income 1st year college students describe their confidence in the use of technology as a factor in their retention. Data analysis consisted of manual coding to identify themes from the interview data. The findings suggested low-income 1st year students do not have confidence in their ability to use technology and remain in college. A policy recommendation to reinstate the information literacy policy for low-income 1st year students could affect social change as additional resources help to raise low-income 1st year college students' confidence using technology and supports them to persist in college.

La résistance bactérienne aux antibiotiques est un problème de santé publique majeur, touchant plus particulièrement les enfants dans les pays en développement (PED).Nous avons effectué une revue systématique de la littérature pour quantifier le niveau de résistance aux antibiotiques chez les enfants âgés de moins de 2 ans dans les PED. De manière générale, les données sur la résistance aux antibiotiques dans la population étudiées sont rares. Selon les publications identifiées, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, et Klebsiella spp. apparaissent comme les causes les plus fréquentes d’infections néonatales sévères. Chez les enfants âgés de 1 à 24 mois, Streptococcus pneumoniae et Salmonella spp. apparaissent comme les causes les plus fréquentes d’infections bactériennes invasives.Dans une seconde revue systématique, nous avons examiné les méthodologies actuelles utilisées pour mesurer la consommation d’antibiotiques dans les PED.Nos résultats montrent qu’aucunes des méthodologiesne permet, à elle seule, de répondre aux besoins de ces pays en terme de données.Nous avons conduit une enquête en population à Madagascar et au Sénégal afin d’examiner les modalités de consommation d’antibiotiques chez des enfants de moins de 2 ans. Dans les 2 pays, la plupart des antibiotiques étaient achetés en pharmacie sur présentation d’une ordonnance. Une proportion élevée des antibiotiques était utilisée pour le traitement d’infections probablement d’origine virale. Des facteurs tels que la disponibilité de centres de santé, de pharmacies, l’existence de programmes de remboursement ou encore la formation du personnel pourraient influencer la fréquence de consommations d’antibiotiques au niveau national.Les résultats issus de ces travaux de recherche ajoutent des données essentielles à la littérature existante et mettent en évidence des leçons importantes pour la lutte contre la résistance aux antibiotiques dans les PEDs. / Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat across the world and is likely to disproportionately affect children in low-income countries (LICs).To estimate the burden of antibiotic resistance in the community among children under two in LICs we undertook a review of published literature. Common isolates in neonatal sepsis cases included Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella. Among children 1 mo. to 2 yrs., Streptococcus pneumonia and Salmonella were most often reported. Information on antibiotic resistance was sparse and often relied on few isolates.We reviewed methods to measure antibiotic consumption in LICs from published literature and showed that current techniques used in isolation are insufficient to respond to all the data needs in LICs. Integrating study techniques and starting with community surveys may respond more adequately to this issue in LICs and lead to more actionable results.To investigate patterns of antibiotic consumption and related factors among children under two in Madagascar and Senegal we undertook community surveys in two sites in Madagasgar (Antananarvo and Moramanga) and one site in Senegal. Results showed relatively high levels of antibiotic use among children. The majority of antibiotics were purchased in pharmacies with a prescription in both countries. Data suggest a high proportion of use for likely viral infections. Local contexts including the availability of health care facilities, availability of pharmacies, national payment schemes, and provider training seemed to play a role in country usage rates.Results from this work add essential data to the literature where relatively little data exists and reveal important lessons about studying and combating antibiotic resistance in LICs.

The achievement gap stands as one of the top priorities framing educational policy through the past half-century. The middle school level amplifies this gap especially in urban areas. The role of principal leadership in closing the achievement gap is key. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the leadership styles of principals assigned to Title I middle schools, staff longevity, school climate, and overall school achievement. The researcher applied a non-experimental, ex-post facto research design to investigate the research hypotheses. Utilizing the Google Survey Platform, 290 staff members across 30 middle schools within a large urban school district in southeast Florida, completed a survey which included questions related to longevity, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5x). Results of the school district’s School Climate Survey, Staff Form, were employed to gauge school climate. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed several significant positive associations between transformational leadership and numerous of the academic areas explored (e.g., reading learning gains of the lowest quartile, math proficiency, and social studies proficiency). In contrast to what was predicted, transactional leadership, also positively predicted some of the academic achievement factors evaluated (e.g., math proficiency, and math learning gains). Staff longevity negatively predicted school grade. Staff climate positively predicted math proficiency, and math learning gains. On the other hand, staff climate negatively predicted school grade, the three factors related to reading achievement (e.g., proficiency, learning gains, and learning gains of the lowest quartile), and social studies proficiency. New research questions arose as a result of the investigation. Further research is recommended that examines the leadership variables explored within a larger sample, and in other geographical areas with similar demographics. As well, additional research is suggested involving staff longevity and school climate alongside a measure of collective instructional efficacy where urban schools are concerned.

Every college age student should have the opportunity to attend college and earn a degree, but the fiscal realities for lower income students prevent the majority from attending and the vast majority from completing college, thus perpetuating an intergenerational trend of limited postsecondary education and a likelihood of marginal income and status. Past research studies have shown that, among lower income students, those who receive higher levels of grant funding to offset college expenses are more likely to persist toward completing their educations than those who do not receive the same level of grant funding and thus are forced to rely upon other means, such as student loans or employment, to pay for college. The majority of this research was conducted prior to the recession that began in December 2007 (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008), which has been more severe and longer lasting than any economic contraction since the Great Depression (Dwyer & Lothian, 2012); more current research is needed to determine whether the educational retention behaviors of lower income students in the current challenging economic climate are positively impacted by grant funding. In this study I used quantitative methods to analyze a specific state policy change to determine whether a significant change in the grant funding provided to lower income students resulted in increased retention rates for these students. This study examines school years from 2006-2010, thus encompassing the recent financial crisis and affording an opportunity to explore the persistence behaviors of lower income students during the greatest financial crisis of modern times. The ultimate purpose of the study is to provide conclusions from the research to postsecondary policy makers in the hopes of informing policy and supporting continuing funding of need-based financial aid for lower income students.

This dissertation is composed of three chapters, each applying different quantitative methods to study a specific early childhood education policy or program. Chapter One explores whether expanding preschool education in low- and middle-income countries with public resources would be a viable policy option, using a benefit-cost analysis. Chapter Two examines economic costs of an emergent literacy program that places paid community tutors into pre-K classrooms in Minnesota using the ingredients method of cost analysis. Chapter Three investigates the effectiveness of a school-based attendance intervention at public preschools in high poverty communities of Chile by using student level observational data. The three chapters each highlight different policy problems: global inequalities on access to preschool education, reading gaps among American PK-12 students, and high student absenteeism at publicly funded preschool programs. Together, these studies advance our knowledge about ways to address existing early childhood education policy problems. These studies also help shed light on gaps in our current knowledge and lay out future research agenda.

Despite decades of research and billions of dollars spent per annum to promote at-promise student—that is, low-income, first-generation, and/or racially/ethnically minoritized students—college success, at-promise students continue to be retained and graduate at lower rates than their traditionally college-going peers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how faculty coordinators in the Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC) facilitate and integrate instructors into the program’s ecological validation which has been found to promote at-promise student success. This study is framed by the ecological validation model of student success in conjunction with a systems theory perspective of faculty roles to investigate how TSLC’s faculty coordinators support instructors to engage in high-quality interactions with at-promise students. This qualitative multiple-case study utilizes 56 semi-structured interviews with faculty coordinators, TSLC program directors, and TSLC instructors, as well as observations and documents, from three University of Nebraska campuses to triangulate its findings. Results indicate the importance of the mesolevel role faculty coordinators play in both students and instructors’ ecologies. Three primary ideas emerged. First, faculty coordinators helped bridge instructors to campus and program resources which promoted attentiveness to student needs, the adoption of validating teaching practices, and grew instructor affinity with the program. Moreover, faculty coordinators helped departments understand the program and its students which empowered them to assign good instructors. Second, faculty coordinators helped align instructors’ personal, practitioner, and professional goals with their teaching in the program by working with instructors and departmental leadership to contextualize instructors’ work within TSLC as promoting student success, professionally developing, and beneficially for the department. Third, faculty coordinators influenced instructor pedagogy by encouraging validating teaching practices, demonstrating validating approaches, and serving as single points of contact for instructors. As single points of contacts for instructors, faculty coordinators were able to promote attentiveness to student issues by distributing the responsibility for supporting students across the students’ mesolevel—that is, throughout the program, their other instructors, and campus resources. Results also indicate potential avenues for how institutions can structure supports for instructors to scale TSLC’s ecological validation, including the creation of single points of contacts for instructors, the creation of validating incubators, and the importance of linking trainings with mesolevel supports.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the academic performance of the first-time, full-time, traditional-aged students in the Student Support Services program at East Tennessee State University. This was accomplished by comparing their academic performance with the academic performance of first-time, full-time, traditional-aged non-SSS participants, including students in both the SSS eligible and SSS ineligible study groups. Incoming freshman cohorts from 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 were used to create the 3 distinct study groups. Demographic and performance outcome variables were used for comparison among the 3 groups. The cumulative college GPA, fall-to-fall retention, and 6-year graduation status of the 3 study groups were of primary interest in this study. Prediction models for these 3 variables were a secondary consideration. Thirteen research questions guided this study and were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, two-way contingency tables, multivariate linear regressions, and binary logistic regressions. Results indicated that there were significant differences in demographic and performance outcomes among the 3 study groups. SSS participants were found to have a significantly lower cumulative GPA at graduation than their peers, but exceeded them in fall-to-fall retention status and 6-year graduation status. The prediction models showed that the first-year cumulative college GPA was a powerful predictor of fall-to-fall retention status and 6-year graduation status for first-time, full-time traditional-aged freshman students.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess teacher perception of how economically disadvantaged students at White Pine School were being served. The results of this study may help educators at White Pine School determine how to support and improve learning conditions for economically disadvantaged students. Data collection techniques included individual interviews, focus group interviews, and document review. The following conditions were discovered in relation to economically disadvantaged students: positive home-school relationships; desire to become a full-service school; limited parent-training opportunities with limited participation; limited professional development opportunities; limited poverty discussion in professional learning communities; underuse of college partnerships; need for a mentoring program; need for programming to combat absenteeism; demand for additional early intervention programs; positive student-teacher relationships; a variety of opportunities for students of poverty to build confidence; teachers high expectations from teachers; importance given to enrichment opportunities; teaching strategies focused on active learning; assignment of small, meaningful doses of homework; limited tutoring opportunities; and use of multiple data-collection methods. Recommendations for improving how students of poverty are served include continuing to expand efforts concerning positive home-school relationships, investigating the possibility of becoming a full-service school, designing a powerful parent-training program, offering additional professional development training for teachers, developing poverty-related topics for professional learning communities, finding ways to improve partnerships with local colleges and universities, designing a quality mentoring program, finding creative ways to address absenteeism, finding additional means of providing early intervention, continuing to develop positive student-teacher relationships, finding additional ways to build confidence, maintaining high expectations of students of poverty, creating additional meaningful enrichment opportunities, searching for the best teaching strategies to improve learning, continuing to assign meaningful homework with assistance as needed, creating a comprehensive tutoring program, and collecting meaningful and useful data to help teachers increase students' achievement.