In spite of an expanding enrollment of African American males in community colleges in the United States, the early departure of this minority group is one of concern. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore African American males’ identification of the factors that contributed to their persistence at community colleges. Data were collected through structured interviews with 7 African American male community college graduates who were enrolled at a 4-year university when the study was conducted. Data were analyzed through by coding and categorizing in order to determine themes. Social integration and social cognitive models were used to obtain an understanding of the factors that allowed these students to persist in their studies and obtain their associate degree. With this study, the researcher aimed at creating a mental picture of African American male students who have completed an associate degree by identifying the factors that African American males perceived contributed to their persistence. This study builds upon the limited amount of research available which focused on African American males attending community colleges. The researcher sought to bring understanding to factors affecting the persistence of African American males at community colleges. The study’s findings are significant as they highlight African American males’ identification of persistence factors; this information could be used by community college administrators to better support the success rates of African American males.

Community colleges face challenges with the high rate of retirement of community college presidents and the need to replace them with qualified leaders. Although leadership research has identified a number of desirable attributes of community college presidents, there is little research on the attributes sought by both faculty leaders and board members in an effective community college presidential applicant. This exploratory qualitative study sought to fill that gap. Its additional purpose was to examine how these two groups make a decision when differences occur. Attribute theory served as the conceptual framework that guided the study. Seven faculty leaders and 3 board members responded to questionnaires and participated in interviews on the attributes they deemed most important. Data were analyzed by using open and axial coding. Findings revealed that faculty and board members agreed on these key attributes of a community college president: communication skills, decision-making skills, honesty, problem solving skills, and vision. However, faculty discussed them from the perspective of what happens inside the institution, while board members discussed them from the perspective of what happens outside the institution. Applicants and committee members need to be aware of the importance of serving internal and external constituents. Both faculty and board members indicated using a democratic, collegial method to come to agreement when differences occurred. Social change implications include enhanced satisfaction and retention of community college presidents and thus better stability and performance of their institutions.

Higher education institutions in Ghana are challenged in providing access to affordable education to accommodate all qualified students for postsecondary education. Most Ghanaian students seek skills and knowledge to prepare them for a global workforce. The study's purpose was to investigate the adaptation of the U.S. community college's 2-year model for training students in Ghana's higher education system to participate in high skilled employment in business and industry, using a conceptual framework drawn from Becker's theory of human capital. The research questions focused on what support students need to participate successfully in Ghana's higher education system, and what concerns stakeholders have regarding higher education in Ghana that might be addressed by the U.S. community college model. This qualitative study included individual and focus group interviews with 11 participants, including college students, faculty, staff, the registrar, and community business partners. Data were analyzed to find emerging codes and themes. Results showed that participants perceived a variety of challenges that limited their access to and participation in higher education including: financial issues, lack of preparation in critical thinking, inadequate academic facilities, and inequitable distribution of education subsidies. Participants expressed the need for campus-based career development programs, partnerships with community business organizations, and employable skills and work experience. Findings may contribute to positive social change by encouraging entrepreneurship education that might help create wealth to break the cycle of poverty. Higher education administrators may be encouraged to provide practical education to address the problem of youth unemployment.

Intimate partner violence affects a significant portion of college-aged individuals, but researchers know little about how the intersection of age, race, class, and gender influence intimate partner violence among community college students in the United States. In this quantitative correlational study, I examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and gender, race, age, class, marital status, and past abuse among community college students using the intersectionality theory. I used the Abusive Behavior Inventory and a demographic survey to collect data via a convenience sample of the target population of men (n = 220) and women (n = 330) attending a community college or recent graduates. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated although no demographic variables were related to the frequency of psychological violence, lower age and higher socioeconomic status were related to increased frequency of physical violence. Individuals aged 18-24 were more likely than other groups to experience physical violence (t = -2.73, p = .008), and individuals with higher income levels (larger than $50,000) were more likely than individuals in other socioeconomic statuses to experience physical violence (t = 1.99, p = .049). The implications for positive social change include generating data regarding the potential predictive demographic factors that influence intimate partner violence, which may help professional's complete interventions that address intimate partner violence among community college students. More targeted interventions could reduce the rate of intimate partner violence and the long-term effects of intimate partner violence, particularly among the unexpected populations affected by intimate partner violence, as I indicated.

In the face of 21st century economic challenges, community colleges must contend with complex pressures on their mission. The dueling missions of academic transfer and workforce preparation must sustain and grow the American economy in a global market and simultaneously meet the promise to community college students— open access to quality higher education for all. In the midst of this challenging environment, community college faculty attitudes and awareness to mission challenges are often ignored. This study examined the macro-level effects of external pressures of the 21st century economy at the micro-level of full-time faculty at Texas community colleges. The study design followed a post-positivist paradigm and sought generalizeable data about full-time faculty from Texas community colleges. Quantitative data from an online survey were analyzed to determine faculty awareness of and attitudes toward the community college mission. The findings of the study show that faculty blur the boundaries of what traditionally have been considered workforce and academic roles. They are not well- informed about the range of pressures on the community college, but they are willing to integrate the academic and workforce mission and change in other ways to respond to challenges. They are generally supportive of the community college mission. Faculty teach with their students’ long-term interests in mind, including career preparation and lifelong learning, more than they teach to prepare their students for immediate work in the community. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Florida State University, 1995. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-198).

<p> In higher education, adjuncts are employed at higher percentages than are full-time instructors. These teachers are vital to colleges because they form such a large contingent of teachers, especially in community college systems. At rural community colleges, adjuncts fill the greatest percentage of teaching positions; but, because of factors associated with small rural communities, qualified adjuncts are difficult to recruit and to retain. One factor that leads to higher levels of retention, more positive teaching experiences, and better perceptions of fitting in the career is having positive professional self-identity. The problem addressed in this study was that adjunct instructors often are not perceived to be professional teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover and describe the perceptions of professional identity among adjunct instructors at a small rural community college, adding both to theory and to understanding of how this group identifies itself as professionals. A generic qualitative research approach was utilized throughout the research process. Data were collected during semi-structured, one-on-one, interviews with 10 adjunct instructors at one campus of a larger 11-campus system. The results indicated that these adjunct instructors could be studied through the lenses of three professional identity theories. First, classical professionalism theory provided the framework for showing that these adjuncts have created their professional identities through the attributes of knowledge and training, autonomy, calling and service, and ethicality. Second, self-categorization was the scaffolding for determining identity by perceptions of belonging, or not belonging, to a group. Ninety percent of the adjunct instructors came to SRCC identifying as a member of professional teachers, previously created through experiences and self-assignation. The third theory germane for this group of adjuncts was psychosocial identity development, the theory under which these adjuncts found themselves at a developmental stage where they could achieve their own life&rsquo;s goals while at the same time helping their students attain their goals. Future studies could be conducted at other campuses within the same college system, at other small rural community colleges, and colleges in general to determine similarities or differences in results due to context.</p>

<p> Financial instability is a common fiscal burden for many community college students and can serve as primary barrier to educational success (Quaye &amp; Harper, 2015). Although traditional financial aid is structured to assist students in financing college expenses, many low-income students often face financial emergencies beyond the scope of financial aid (Johnson, 2015). These financial emergencies have been specifically identified as serious obstacles to educational success and have prompted many institutions to establish student emergency financial assistance programs (Geckeler, Beach, Pih, &amp; Yan, 2008). This study explored one student emergency financial assistance program at a public community college and the impact it had on student success, persistence, and completion rates. Although findings from the study lacked positive statistical significance, it could be argued that students who received emergency financial assistance lacked a chance to achieve successful academic outcomes. The association of financial emergencies, to low academic performance (Cady, 2014), coupled with heightened negative impacts of students&rsquo; financial circumstances to educational success (Bean &amp; Metzner, 1985), and the absence of a comprehensive emergency financial assistance program structure at the studied institution (Goldrick-Rab, Broton, &amp; Frank, 2014) all contributed to study findings. These findings imply changes to the structure of emergency financial assistance programs which promote comprehensive services to students, align social and educational policy, and have complete institutional support (Baum, McDemmond, &amp; Jones, 2014).</p>

<p> The perceptions of six community college faculty members about the qualities of college-level writing were explored in a series of guided interviews conducted at Prairie Community College (a pseudonym) located in the central time zone of the United States. The study examined the perceptions of the six faculty members with regard to important characteristics of college-level writing, acceptable multiple discourses within college-level writing, and perceptions of faculty members from different academic disciplines about college-level writing. Interview data were analyzed through the lens of transcendental phenomenology. </p><p> The results showed that the six community college faculty members differed greatly by academic discipline about what they perceived college-level writing to be. The English faculty members believed that college-level writing consists of grammatically correct sentences presented within essay structures. However, faculty members of biology, economics, and mathematics were much more open in their perceptions about what could be accepted as college-level writing. </p><p> The results of the study suggest a need for dialogue among faculty members of different disciplines within community colleges about the characteristics of college-level writing and what community college students need to learn to become successful college-level writers.</p>