The issue of performance indicators for colleges and universities in Ontario was first raised in the early 1990s by the Ministry of Education and Training’s Task Force on University Accountability. The decision to develop and use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was made in the 1990s (Ministry of Education and Training, 1998). The three KPIs for Ontario universities are Graduation Rates, Employments Rates, and OSAP Loan Default Rates. The declared purposes of the publication of the KPIs evolved over time. Initially, they were to enable parents and students with data to inform post-secondary education choice. The purposes then became benchmarks without any clear indication of what constituted satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance. Performance funding based on KPIs introduced a third phase. Finally, they were to influence the universities' programming behaviour without government’s direct intervention. The overall intent was to help universities improve their performance (MTCU, 2012). My study focused on the impact of KPIs on Ontario universities 10 years after they were instituted. This exploratory and descriptive study examined the history of why and how KPIs were introduced in Ontario and the perception of 12 key informants of 11 participating universities regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of the existing KPIs. The study sought to identify areas of concern of the participants and their suggestions on how the KPIs can be altered to improve their effectiveness. The findings provide an understanding of the impact of the KPIs and suggested alternatives, and provide valuable information and a potential source for evidence-based MTCU policy decisions that impact Ontario’s universities and their stakeholders. The findings suggest that a review and redefinition of the theory of accountability as applied in Ontario universities are required as the initial interpretation of accountability defined by the three KPIs is too narrow to be pragmatically useful. Most university participants perceived that the current KPIs are not having the intended impact. I recommend that both parties work together and be clear on each other’s goals and expectations to develop effective measures on institutional performance and accountability, and to satisfy the needs of the government, the universities and the public.

The extent and nature of institutional differentiation is a design choice among many that must be considered by policymakers not only when developing a higher education system but also when introducing policy changes to an existing system. Modifications to the design of Ontario’s higher education system have been suggested over the years in an effort to increase its quality (instruction and research) and accessibility in a cost effective manner. The fiscal climate of restraint has recently intensified the debate for structural changes through increased institutional differentiation in Ontario’s higher education system. Institutional diversity was examined using a mixed research method in two phases. This study first used hierarchical cluster analysis which suggested that there has been very little change in diversity between 1994 and 2010 as universities were clustered in three groups for both 1994 and 2010.However, by adapting Birnbaum’s (1983) diversity matrix methodology to Ontario’s university sector, there appears to have been a decrease in systemic diversity (differences in the type of institution and size of institution) and climate diversity (differences in campus environment and culture) between 1994 and 2010 and a projected further decrease to 2018. The second phase of this study used policy analysis and drew on mutually related theoretical perspectives from organizational theory as its primary conceptual framework to interpret and corroborate the decrease in diversity between 1994 and 2010. Interviews were also conducted with university presidents to gain a greater understanding of the key factors or barriers in Ontario’s reticence in proposing design changes in its higher education system. Having been informed by the policy analysis, interviews and projections of the extent of diversity to 2018, the study proposed a diversity policy for Ontario’s university sector. Diversity can be increased in Ontario’s university sector by providing institutions with competitive incremental funding allocations within each of three clusters that would specifically address government diversity objectives through a revised strategic mandate agreement process. Additional research funding should also be provided by the federal government to a limited number of research-intensive universities to ensure that Canadian institutions remain competitive on the world stage.

The Canadian early childhood landscape is changing substantially, pushing early childhood from a private family responsibility into the greater public policy discourse. New investments in early childhood services, combined with research that defines the importance of early years learning, requires a careful analysis of the professional preparation of early childhood educators. At the same time typical understandings of family and childhood are being challenged through legal and social policy reforms. Although Canadian demographic changes indicate a growing number of queer families with children, the gap in addressing the interests of queer identified parents and their children is exacerbated by the dominance of a heteronormative perspective in early childhood theory, training and practice. My study demonstrates the disparity between the professional preparation of early childhood educators in Ontario and how queer families are understood in the Canadian context. I draw upon queer theory to deconstruct how educators understand child development patterns and family composition including the newly defined family units that can include single or multiple parents of varying sexual identities that may consist of, but are not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans parents. Using qualitative methods, the research is grounded in data sources including text analysis of key early childhood texts, focus groups with early childhood educators who have graduated from ECE training programs in Ontario during the last decade and interviews with queer parents with young children enrolled in early childhood programs. I argue that the inherent heteronormative discourse of developmentally appropriate practice silences queer in early childhood training and is embedded in foundational approaches including standards of practice, curriculum frameworks and textbooks commonly used in the training of early childhood educators. Notions of diversity, equity and inclusion structure this silencing. My study also found that early childhood educators have a narrow understanding of how queer parents may be similar or different from other parents. Educators have a limited capacity to support and engage with parents that do not fit the dominant framework of family identity. The queer parents’ narratives consistently present subtle forms of homophobia and transphobia through the silencing of their family in their child’s early childhood program. The results of the study provide an opportunity to reimagine the professional training of early childhood educators embedding a much richer theoretical grounding and teaching practice of diversity and difference that includes queer parents and their children.

With Inuit identifying as a people beyond nation-state boundaries, and Nunavummiut and Greenlanders as citizens of Canada and Denmark, the right to self-determination has followed distinct trajectories in the jurisdictions examined in my thesis. Nunavut has a constitutional mandate to be responsive to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, paradoxically intensifying the relationships with the federal government towards further devolution and maintaining an ethnic divide trespassing territorial lines. Envisioning statehood, Greenland has chosen to gradually break economic ties with Denmark and in mainstreaming its governance capacity it appears to be branching off ethnocentric policies. In what seem opposing pathways, autonomous postsecondary education institutions are positioned to mitigate the notional extremes the right to self-determination calls upon. By comparing institutions steering through conflicting missions, this thesis illustrates the ways in which the right to self-determination operates against the backdrop of regained geopolitical prominence of the Arctic Region. Applying a legal theoretical framework to the scholarship of indigenous education this thesis raises a number of issues in carrying forward the right to self-determination once indigenous peoples regain control over their destinies. Issues regarding social stratification challenging the politics of representation indicate that achieving some form of autonomy does not necessarily result in social justice as the indigenous rights advocacy scholarship suggests. Considering the Inuit right to self-determination as a process right rather than an outcome, this finding highlights internal pluralities challenging the reification of Inuit identity on the basis of cultural, political, and socioeconomic difference. This thesis advocates for examining the contingencies that shape Inuit multiple allegiances accounting for peoples vantage geopolitical positioning. As Inuit redefine their position in the local, national, and global spheres, important knowledge is produced overcoming the single overriding of identity politics. Recognizing that Inuit knowledge is knowledge in context, the author contends, may lead to new ways for postsecondary education to uphold the Inuit right to self-determination.

With Inuit identifying as a people beyond nation-state boundaries, and Nunavummiut and Greenlanders as citizens of Canada and Denmark, the right to self-determination has followed distinct trajectories in the jurisdictions examined in my thesis. Nunavut has a constitutional mandate to be responsive to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, paradoxically intensifying the relationships with the federal government towards further devolution and maintaining an ethnic divide trespassing territorial lines. Envisioning statehood, Greenland has chosen to gradually break economic ties with Denmark and in mainstreaming its governance capacity it appears to be branching off ethnocentric policies. In what seem opposing pathways, autonomous postsecondary education institutions are positioned to mitigate the notional extremes the right to self-determination calls upon. By comparing institutions steering through conflicting missions, this thesis illustrates the ways in which the right to self-determination operates against the backdrop of regained geopolitical prominence of the Arctic Region. Applying a legal theoretical framework to the scholarship of indigenous education this thesis raises a number of issues in carrying forward the right to self-determination once indigenous peoples regain control over their destinies. Issues regarding social stratification challenging the politics of representation indicate that achieving some form of autonomy does not necessarily result in social justice as the indigenous rights advocacy scholarship suggests. Considering the Inuit right to self-determination as a process right rather than an outcome, this finding highlights internal pluralities challenging the reification of Inuit identity on the basis of cultural, political, and socioeconomic difference. This thesis advocates for examining the contingencies that shape Inuit multiple allegiances accounting for peoples vantage geopolitical positioning. As Inuit redefine their position in the local, national, and global spheres, important knowledge is produced overcoming the single overriding of identity politics. Recognizing that Inuit knowledge is knowledge in context, the author contends, may lead to new ways for postsecondary education to uphold the Inuit right to self-determination.

This thesis investigates development assistance programming in the research activities of higher education institutions by studying the case of the Norwegian Programme for Education, Research and Development (NUFU) and its activities in two sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations. In this thesis, North-South Research Partnerships (NSRPs) are conceptualized through the construction of an ideal-type based on the historical record of NSRP progrmaming. A conceptual framework and analytical tool are developed in order to present the dominant norms associated with mainstream North-South research programming over the past sixty years, as firmly embedded in exploitative core-periphery dynamics. The main research questions ask to what extent the NUFU model differs from other NSRP programs, including South-South collaborative opportunities, and to what extent the program creates spaces for endogenous research needs and priorities to take precedent over exogenous demands and targets. A qualitative investigation is used to gather data from textual analysis, participant observation and key informant interviews in order to investigate how the NUFU program establishes demand-driven programs in Southern universities while negotiating the Norwegian and global political economies. A case study of a single NUFU North-South-South project demonstrates how the program framework influences the construction of the partnership modality. The findings indicate that the North-South component of the model presents significant opportunities for demand-driven research, but that changing trends in Norway are placing pressure on the program and researchers. With regard to the South-South component, the study concludes that the modality is under-conceptualized, lacks clarity of purpose and has failed to generate sustainable collaboration within the SSA region. The implications of these findings for NSRP programming, the NUFU program in particular, are that historical asymmetries remain firmly entrenched; without a radical reconstitution of the economic and political relations between Northern and Southern states, the most powerful international actors, be they states, private entities or multilateral agencies, will continue to dominate and determine knowledge production capacities and outputs. The study concludes by suggesting opportunities for NSRP programs to augment their support of Southern universities and by reflecting on how ongoing changes in current geo-political configurations could open new spaces for alternative development trajectories.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education / Christy D. Craft / This phenomenological study sought to address the overarching research questions: What are the costs and benefits of participation in Division I college sports? How does participation in Division I college sports prepare student-athletes for life after college? A qualitative methodology was selected to provide richer data than that which could be collected via surveys. The researcher interviewed 15 former student-athletes, each of whom participated in either football or men’s basketball at one Division I institution. According to the study participants, having a strong support system, including a career networking system and gaining positive attributes were the benefits of the experience. The heavy time commitment, the perceptions of others outside of athletics, and health challenges were all cited as costs of the experience. For the most part, participants of the study believed their college experience prepared them for life after college by providing career networking opportunities as well as attributes that are valuable in their work and personal lives. Four recommendations for practice were revealed from this study. First, athletic department personnel, campus administrators, and student service unit across campus, should help student-athletes understand and market attributes they are gaining in their roles as athletes and students. Second, campus professionals can help these young adults deal with the negative perceptions and treatment they receive from others on campus. In addition, campus administrators should act to minimize negative stereotypes by speaking out against them and emphasizing the positive examples that are sure to exist on campus. Finally, these professional can learn more about the long-term mental and physical health concerns associated with participation in high-stress, physical college sports and educate participants on preventing or minimizing the potential health consequences of their participation.

Master of Science / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Shannon Washburn / Each year higher education institutions seek to recruit and attract high school graduates to their institutions. Millions of high school seniors each year are in the midst of the college choice process, attempting to determine which institution is “right” for them. This study explored college choice factors important to high school seniors in the search phase of the college choice process. To carry out this study purposeful sampling was used to select 11 high school seniors participating in individually scheduled campus visits. An interview process was used to investigate what college choice factors were important to them when choosing a university/college. Student responses were ultimately categorized into six areas: interest in a specific major/program area, reputation, ideal distance from home, family interaction with institution, factors related to paying for college, and campus environment.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / This study investigated the impact of an extended orientation program, Wildcat Warm-up, on academic performance and retention. The study sought to quantify differences between students who participated in the program and those who did not attend in terms of grade point average and retention to sophomore year. Participants in the study were all domestic, full-time, freshmen undergraduate students enrolled at the institution in the fall semester (2004 to 2007). This study sought to provide descriptive and predictability data by comparing two groups of students. One group consisted of participants in Wildcat Warm-up while the second was a comparison group matched on ACT composite score, residency status, and gender. Institutional data were analyzed, including student self-report record information, institutionally generated grade reports from the end of each semester, and enrollment information. The participant group and comparison group were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The first two research questions provided a preliminary analysis of the overall impact of the extended orientation on the two measures identified for the study: freshman grade point averages and retention. The first research question and hypothesis were explored with a two-group independent samples Chi-square test with a dichotomous response variable. The second research question and hypothesis were explored with an analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) for both first and second semester grade point averages. The third research question and remaining hypotheses were explored through a logistic regression analysis using the forward stepwise method. This study found there was a relationship between retention to sophomore year and Wildcat Warm-up participation and slight significant differences between first semester grade point averages for the two groups. In both cases, the strength of the association was small, but significant. The logistic regression analysis allowed for the creation of odds ratios for the predictor variables of the study where it was discovered when all other variables remain constant, the odds of a Wildcat Warm-up participant being retained from freshman to sophomore year were 31% higher than for a non-participant. While statistical significance was found, practical significance considerations did not allow much, if any of the variance, to be attributed to Wildcat Warm-up participation.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the impact of student support services on the engagement and satisfaction of undergraduate non-traditional students at Kansas State University. For the purposes of this study, student support services were defined as non-academic departments or offices providing support services to students. The research questions were: (1) How do the experiences of non-traditional students, when utilizing the services of university student support staff, impact their engagement and satisfaction? (2) How do non-traditional students regard their experiences with student support services at Kansas State University? (3) What types of programming do student support services at Kansas State University provide for non-traditional students? (4) What level of involvement with student support service functions do non-traditional students find as enhancing their learning experience? Following the completion of in-depth interviews of 20 non-traditional students, five student support staff members and observation of five student support staff offices, the researcher identified the emergence of six themes related to the engagement and satisfaction of non-traditional students: (1) commitment - student’s perceptions of efforts to engage and satisfy them through a commitment of university resources, (2) expectations - demonstration of investment in the students and validation of their presence on campus by communicating clear expectations, (3) support - provision and utilization of support services that promote student success (4) involvement - perceptions of the relationship between student and support staff and opportunities for academic and social integration, (5) learning - efforts to enhance the learning experiences of non-traditional students, (6) feedback – gathering of suggestions for change and improvement to the non-traditional student experience. These themes captured the experiences of non-traditional students while utilizing student support services. Students who develop or experience a positive connection with a student support staff member or faculty member reported that those experiences leave them feeling engaged in the life of the university and satisfied with their student role. Non-traditional students were confused about what student support services were available and how to utilize them. When students seek the help of support staff, the student often left feeling as though the staff do not understand their needs. Student support service offices did not differentiate between programs specifically for non-traditional and traditionally-aged students. Students could identify student support service staff as connectors as playing the role of; academic advisor, admissions representative, financial aid advisor, housing staff member, faculty member or others who take the opportunity to engage with the student.